Insane moment Ukrainian soldier blasts Putin drone out of the sky with machine gun
Footage filmed from a Ukrainian aircraft shows a solider with a mounted machine gun target and blast an Iranian-made Shahed drone to smithereens.
Stunning moment Ukrainian military machine gun Putin drone
This is the dramatic moment a Ukrainian machine gunner skillfully blasted one of Vladimir Putin's drones out of the sky in a thrilling mid-air combat video.
A day after Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day, the footage was posted by the armed forces showing a soldier targeting the Iranian-made Shahed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
In the clip, a soldier carefully takes aim as his aircraft flies alongside the drone before he pulls the trigger and the UAV starts smoking and plummets to the ground.
The video was accompanied by the Little Richard Rock 'n' Roll song, 'Long Tall Sally'.
It's not clear if the drone was shot down over Ukraine, or if the engagement happened over the Kursk region of Russia where Ukrainian forces have staged a surprise invasion humiliating Putin.
The Ukrainian military now claims to hold 480 square miles of Russian territory, and in the past week, has launched drone attacks on strategic bridges and on Russian airfields and drone bases.
In reply, Russia has also carried out mass drone and missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian towns and cities, as it has done throughout the conflict.
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Shahed drones, like the one filmed in the footage released today, fly at around 200mph and carry a deadly payload of 100lb-worth of explosives in their warheads.
Ukraine's air defences have so far stood up well to the drone attacks but some still get through costing civilian and military lives. Russia has also deployed deadly aircraft-launched hypersonic missiles during the conflict.
Speaking during Independence Day commemorations on Saturday, Ukrainian President Zelensky said Russia was now "reaping the rewards" of attacking a free independent nation.
In a rousing speech, he said: "Those who seek to sow evil on our land will reap its fruits on their own soil, and those who sought to turn our lands into a buffer zone should now worry that their own country doesn’t become a buffer federation.
"This is how independence responds."
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In Russia authorities said five people died in Ukrainian shelling in the border region of Belgorod, while Russian forces struck a hotel in eastern Ukraine, leaving one journalist missing and two others injured.
Twelve other people were wounded in the Russian village of Rakitone, 23 miles from the Ukrainian border, including a 16-year-old girl reported to be in critical condition, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
The Reuters news agency said that their journalist covering the war in Ukraine was missing and two other team members were hospitalised after Hotel Sapphire, where a six-person crew was staying, was hit “by an apparent missile strike” on Saturday.
It added: “One of our colleagues is unaccounted for, while another two have been taken to hospital for treatment."
