Ukrainian Mi-8 Helicopter Crew Pulled A Risky Resupply Mission At Azovstal Braving Russian Defense: Report

The Ukrainian Armed Troops have revealed the details of a daring mission conducted by their helicopter crew amid the siege at Azovstal during the fight for Mariupol. Though the mission was successful, Ukraine lost three choppers.

The defending forces deployed the Mi-8 Hip Helicopter crew to deliver desperately-needed supplies and fresh troops to the defenders at Azovstal, evading Russian air defense and aircraft hovering in and around Mariupol, Ukraine Brig. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, told The Drive.

"The special operation was planned and performed by Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine," Budanov told the news outlet.

According to Budanov, the Ukrainian forces dug into the sprawling steel plant for nearly three months for a resupply mission. All this while, the plant was surrounded by Russian forces, who constantly bombarded the area.

However, as days went by, the stocks of food, water, medical supplies, and ammunition ran short, and the number of critically wounded increased. Pleas for help and desperation soon began pouring out from the steel plant.

The Mi-8s were deployed, and they resupplied the troops with Avostal with arms, ammunition, medicine, food, and 72 additional fighters from the Azov Regiment, the unit defending the plant.

There were seven missions in total, and all deliveries were successful. However, Budanov did not offer specifics about when they took place.

However, two helicopters were shot down on the 5th and 7th missions. A third helicopter coming to the rescue on one of those was also destroyed, Budanov told The Drive. He did not say whether the crew survived or not.

Interestingly, on March 31, a Chinese TV had broadcast images of a Ukrainian Mi-8 downed near Mariupol. But, it is not clear whether the downed chopper was the one involved in the mission. It had then claimed that 17 were dead, and two survived the crash.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had talked about the bravery of those helicopter crews in a recent speech. "How many pilots gave their lives to bring everything there, from weapons to water. And how many wounded they took from there. A large number of these people died heroically," Zelensky said.

Another senior Ukrainian military official had also mentioned the mission. Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksiy Hromov, said these deliveries were possible only until the information about the aid was leaked.

"As a result, the enemy took measures to strengthen the air defense system, which made it difficult for us to carry out such actions and led to the loss of personnel and helicopters that evacuated the wounded," Hromov added.