This footage obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence shows attack helicopters reportedly setting off to take out military targets in Ukraine during nighttime raids.

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) claimed that its helicopters seen in the footage had been successful in destroying military targets, adding to its previous claim that its military intervention in Ukraine is going according to plan.

In the footage, a Ka-52 attack helicopter, the latest version of the Kamov Ka-50 ‘Black Shark’, can be seen taking off from an undisclosed location, which appears to be a military base. It can then be seen firing its weapons at unclear ground targets. The footage then appears to show it returning to base and landing.

The video was posted as reports emerge that Russia is threatening to cut off its gas supplies if the oil ban touted by Western powers goes ahead.

During its invasion of Ukraine, which it is still calling a “special operation”, Russia has repeatedly claimed that it is targeting military infrastructure and military units.

But the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Sunday, 6th March, that “1,123 civilian casualties in Ukraine have been verified: 364 killed, including 25 children, and 759 injured”.

The UN has also said that over 1.5 million Ukrainians have left the country in what has quickly become the fastest-ever movement of refugees since World War II.

The Russian MoD shared the footage with the following detail (in Russian): “Night footage of the combat use of Ka-52 attack helicopters.

“The flights were carried out mainly at low altitudes and in difficult meteorological conditions. The crews of the army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, acting in pairs, destroyed an anti-aircraft gun and armoured vehicles with anti-tank guided missiles.

“Video materials of objective control confirm the exact hit of aviation weapons. Army aviation in the course of a special military operation performs the tasks of escorting columns, destroying armoured vehicles, delivering troops, military cargo, air support for units performing tasks within the framework of a special operation.”

Kamov Ka-50 ‘Black Shark’ helicopters were used extensively by the Russian army against Chechen separatists in the Second Chechen War. They were also used by the Russian military during their intervention in the Syrian Civil War in 2015. Ka-52 helicopters are the latest version of the Ka-50 helicopters, but they have slightly less armour and are fitted with thermal equipment for nocturnal operations.

At least one of these helicopters was allegedly downed on the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on Thursday, 24th February. And on Wednesday, 2nd March, a second Kamov Ka-52 ‘Black Shark’ was allegedly downed by Ukrainian forces, crash-landing outside the capital Kyiv after being hit by a surface-to-air missile in footage that went viral.