“We’re finishing up fight duties to destroy enemy automobiles, enemy personnel, we’re working with pitch-up assaults from a distance from the place the enemy can’t get us with their air protection system,” mentioned the commander, who spoke on situation of anonymity for operational safety causes, in keeping with navy laws.

The battle in Ukraine is essentially an artillery battle, with territory being fought for inch by inch below a barrage of shells and missiles. However Ukraine’s aviation capabilities play a big position within the combat, the pilot mentioned.

“The significance of the helicopters is big,” mentioned the commander, who’s a part of Ukraine’s twelfth Military Aviation Brigade.

Footage from a digicam hooked up to the helicopter throughout a current fight mission reveals it flying over fields pockmarked with craters from artillery bombing, and firing missiles at Russian trenches that minimize by the panorama.

“We’re taking pictures from the large distance and hit the goal clearly, like there’s a cross on the goal and (the missiles) go by themselves the place they need to go,” the commander mentioned.

He would, nevertheless, wish to fly a more moderen mannequin.

“We have to grasp one thing new, one thing from overseas,” the commander mentioned. “It has higher traits. You’ll be able to maneuver extra on it, there are extra rockets on it and the weapons are extra highly effective. We will do extra duties with higher high quality and with much less danger for us.”

A number of nations, together with the US and Britain, have pledged to ship, or have already despatched, helicopters to Ukraine as a part of navy help for the reason that begin of the battle sparked by Russia’s invasion in Feb 2022.

Comply with AP’s protection of the battle in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine