The first confirmed case: an enemy Mi-28 was shot down by an FPV drone

Ukrainian defenders did indeed shoot down an occupier's helicopter using a drone controlled by FPV (first-person view) piloting. It was a Russian Mi-28 that fell on the border of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, and this is the first such confirmed case.

The video provided by the military was posted on the Telegram channel by blogger and volunteer Serhii Strenenko. At the same time, he criticized those who prematurely disseminated the footage.

"The creature that leaked the video of the Russian Mi-28 being shot down using FPV will be found and will face very unpleasant procedures. It was the work of a long drone that you donated to. And some other plans are now under threat because of the downpour," the activist explained.

However, he added that since the leak had already occurred, the military and volunteers prepared the video in normal quality and decided to make it public. The FPV footage shows that the drone came close to the Russian helicopter from the tail and hit it against a yellow field.

The day before, a photo was posted on social media showing our fighters' FPV drone just seconds before it was hit by a Russian Mi-28 in the tail. The loss of the helicopter was also reported by Russian propagandists: according to them, it was indeed hit on the Kursk border, but it was supposedly undergoing repairs, and the crew allegedly managed to escape.

Ukrainian channels also confirm the downing of the occupiers' helicopter by an FPV drone.

"Yeah, bro, we can say it for sure, the first case of a helicopter being shot down by an FPV drone has indeed been recorded. The nature and location of the damage coincide with the drone's detonation, judging by its video," wrote an Armed Forces lieutenant with the call sign "Alex" on his personal channel "Officer".

When the video spread prematurely online, it was eventually posted by volunteer Serhii Sternenko, who is organizing a fundraiser to buy FPV drones for the Ukrainian defense.

"This is also why we are raising money for the "sky cutter of Russians". The one who leaked this to the network endangers the operators," he said, again criticizing the leak.

The "sky cutter of Russians" is one of the most important fundraisers announced by Sternenko's community during the war. Its goal is to raise 70 million hryvnias for FPV interceptors to buy at least 2,500 drones to shoot down Russian reconnaissance UAVs.

It is also worth recalling an episode in early September 2023, when an FPV drone operator from the Magyar Birds unit tried to shoot down a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter in an unexpected encounter in the sky. The enemy machine managed to escape, but the colonel of the Madiar unit said that sooner or later the FPV drone would reach such a difficult target. The defender's prediction came true almost a year later, but it should be noted that this is an officially confirmed case.

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, Forbes wrote that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter in the occupied Donetsk region with an FPV drone. Analysts pointed out that the operation was successful due to the high skill of Ukrainian UAV operators and carefully thought-out tactics.

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