Ukraine's Bayraktar TB-2 drones continue to inflict serious damage on Russia's armed forces. A video going viral on Twitter and other social media platforms shows the satellite-controlled drones destroying a Russia Mi-8 helicopter while it was offloading soldiers on Snake Island.
The strategically crucial island in the Black Sea has been occupied by the Russian forces, but in recent weeks, Ukraine as significantly escalated its air campaign to target enemy forces.
The dramatic black and white footage of the moment the Russian military chopper blows up was posted by Ukraine Weapons tracker on Twitter on Sunday.
The aerial view taken shows Russian troops leaving the helicopter, and seconds later, the drone drops its munitions.
The video then shows smoke billowing from the chopper as the drone navigates away from Snake Island. There is no date on the video and it's not clear if there were any casualties or injuries from the blast.
The footage was released amid a daring raid carried out by Ukrainian fighter jets on the Russian force occupying the Snake Island.
The air raid by Su-27s was also captured by the gimbal-mounted camera on a TB-2 drones. They have destroyed at least three air-defence systems on the 110-acre island as well as to patrol boats.
By destroying the patrol boats which could have sent reinforcements, air defence system, helicopter landing zones and several structures, the drones cleared the path for the Sukhois to carry out the raid on Saturday, according to Forbes.
Watch the video:
The fighter jets dropped to a lower altitude as they reached the island and dropped bombs, inflicting heavy damage on the Russian forces. That video has also bene posted by the Ukrainian Weapons Tracker handle on Twitter and has received more than 2.2 million views.
Just three weeks ago, Russia lost its biggest warship and an asset of the Black Sea fleet Moskva to a Ukrainian missile strike near the Snake Island. It is 80 miles south of Ukraine's strategic Odessa port.
