The Ukrainian military has released a stunning new video showing how a HIMARS attack caught a group of Russian troops just as they were loading missiles for Alligator attack helicopters onto trucks.

HIMARS systemPhoto: US Air Force / Zuma Press / Profimedia Images

“Greetings from HIMARS. Destruction of the Russian ammunition warehouse in the village of Myronivske, Donetsk region. 9M127 Vihr guided missiles for Ka-50 and Ka-52 helicopters were stored here,” the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said in a statement on its Twitter page along with footage of the attack.

As seen in the video at around 00:17, the Russian soldiers appear to be unaware of the danger they are in, as at least one of them is seen holding the rockets bare-chested.

Kyiv’s Ministry of Defense released the footage on social media after it began circulating on social media a day ago, falsely claiming it was taken near the town of Bakhmut.

However, independent geolocation (48°27’11″N 38°15’16″E) shows that the strike occurred on the border of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The Russians lost almost half of the Alligator helicopters they had before the war

Ka-52 Alligator helicopters played a prominent role in the early days of the Russian invasion launched last year, taking part in an amphibious assault on the strategic Gostomel airport outside Kyiv. Military analysts believe that the failure of Russian troops here saved the Ukrainian capital and allowed Ukraine to avoid a quick defeat.

According to the independent website Oryx, Russia would have lost at least 43 Ka-52 helicopters then and in the following months, when it would have had a maximum of 100 such helicopters at the time of the invasion.

Just two days ago, the Ukrainian military released a video of how they managed to shoot down a Ka-52 “Alligator” near Robotin with the help of the RBS-70 portable anti-aircraft system received from Sweden.

Soldiers of the 47th separate mechanized brigade, who are participating in the offensive at the front in southern Ukraine, shared the video.

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