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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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Russia destroyed two Ukrainian helicopters in a high-precision cluster munition strike in the east of the country, according to Moscow.
Russian aerial reconnaissance located three Ukrainian helicopters in an obscured airfield at an unspecified location in the eastern Donetsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian helicopters were "immediately struck" by cluster munitions, the Kremlin said. Two out of the three helicopters were destroyed, the Russian government said. Moscow shared footage to its social media channels appearing to show the cluster munitions hitting the helicopters.
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Newsweek could not independently verify the footage, nor Russia's battlefield claims. The Ukrainian military has been contacted for comment via email.
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However, open-source intelligenceanalysts raised concerns that such footage demonstrates Russia's growing capability to strike "deep in the rears." Experts suggest the footage published on Wednesday, appearing to feature Ukrainian Mi-8 and Mi-17 transport helicopters, shows Russia has improved its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities since it launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have used cluster munitions in strikes on key assets like rotary-wing aircraft.
In mid-October 2023, Ukraine announced it had received a U.S.-supplied cluster variant of ATACMS, also known as Army Tactical Missile System, with a dramatic attack on Russian helicopters in Moscow-held Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine destroyed nine Russian helicopters, as well as equipment at two bases in the annexed Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, Ukraine's special operations forces said at the time. In the wake of the strikes, open source intelligence reports later suggested that Ukraine may have damaged up to 21 Russian helicopters.
The U.S. Defense Department announced on Tuesday that it would transfer additional cluster rounds to Ukraine as part of a $300 million military aid package. Washington said it would send an unspecified number of 155 mm artillery rounds, including high explosive and dual-purpose improved cluster munitions.
The Biden administration pledged dual-purpose improved conventional munitions to Ukraine in July 2023. A very effective weapon, they are controversial because they disperse sub-munitions over a wide area that can harm civilians.
The aid package unveiled on Tuesday was described by the Defense Department as a "short-term stop gap" as more comprehensive future aid for Ukraine continues to languish in Congress. The $300 million package was pulled together using "contract savings from previously appropriated supplemental funding" that can be used to replenish Defense Department stocks, the Pentagon said.
"This ammunition will keep Ukraine's guns firing for a period, but only a short period," said Jake Sullivan, the White House's national security adviser.
Update 3/13/2024 at 11:18 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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