IN THE CROSSHAIRS
Watch dramatic moment Ukrainian gunship helicopter blasts Putin’s deadly Shahed kamikaze drone out of the sky
Video gives a rare point-of-view glimpse into taking out a deadly drone
DRAMATIC footage has captured the moment a Ukrainian attack helicopter shoots a Russian drone out of the sky.
The chopper chases down a Shahed-136, known as a kamikaze drone, as the gunman tracks its path.
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Gaining a clear line of sight, the Kyiv troop then opens fire with the helicopter's machine gun.
The drone immediately starts emitting a thick trail of smoke as a barrage of bullets blast into it.
Within eight seconds, it starts to plunge from the skies.
Other angles of the attack show the drone plummeting to the ground before it blows up on impact.
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A cloud of smoke rises into the air in a Ukrainian triumph.
Shahed drones, designed and built in Iran, are flown in the air to attack ground targets from a distance.
Russia has commonly used them in its invasion, particularly to target important infrastructure.
The US has previously accused Iran of gifting Vlad hundreds of them for his cruel attack on Ukraine.
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In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that according to Ukrainian Air Force data, Russia had launched 2,628 Shahed drones in just six months.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2022 labelled Vlad's use of Iranian-made drones "a collaboration with evil".
Putin blitzes Ukraine with massive missile & drone barrage as blasts rock Kyiv
Vlad launched a major attack on Ukraine overnight - for the second night running - unleashing hundreds of drones and missiles.
Fifteen regions were hit and at least seven were killed.
Authorities said a hotel was blown away in the central city of Kryvyi, killing two, with two more dying in drone attacks in the embattled Zaporizhzhia in the country's southeast.
Ukraine was also forced to intercept strikes bound for capital city Kyiv.
Fierce fighting boils on in Pokrovsk in Ukraine's east as Vlad vies to take the high-priority Donetsk town.
It is being hotly fought over because it sits in vicinity of Ukrainian supply lines.
The Kremlin's deadly strikes are set to keep igniting debate over whether Kyiv should be allowed to use Western weapons to strike deep within Russia, where they say attacks are being launched from.
US President Joe Biden moved to assure Zelensky that their bond was "unshakeable" in the wake of the attacks.
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He added: "Ukrainian officials report that this outrageous attack resulted in the deaths of Ukrainian civilians and targeted more than two dozen critical energy sites.
"Let me be clear: Russia will never succeed in Ukraine, and the spirit of the Ukrainian people will never be broken."
A Ukrainian MP from Kharkiv told Sky News it appeared the bombardments were designed to crush the spirit of the people.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy took to X to slam the Kremlin for the attacks.
He said: "The UK utterly condemns Russia’s cowardly missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine today.
"These assaults are in flagrant violation of international law and those responsible must be brought to justice."
Lammy also lamented the death of Brit Ryan Evans, who was working for news agency Reuters when a missile hit his hotel in Kramatorsk on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's counter-attack into the Russian region of Kursk continues.
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There are also reports of troops trying to break through the border in the neighbouring Belgorod region.
Zelensky says his forces continue to seize more enemy soil as an angry Vlad batters Ukrainian territory in response.
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