Putin's helicopter caught in epicenter of Ukrainian drone attack during Kursk visit
Russian President Vladimir Putin was aboard a helicopter caught in the "epicenter" of efforts to repel a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack during his visit to the Kursk region on May 20, reported Russian air defense division commander Yuri Dashkin.
According to Dashkin, the president's helicopter was "literally at the epicenter of countering a massive enemy drone attack." He stated, "The intensity of the attack increased significantly as the helicopter of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief flew over the Kursk region. Therefore, we simultaneously conducted an air defense operation and ensured the aerial safety of the president’s helicopter," Dashkin revealed during a broadcast on the Rossiya-24 television channel.
Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the air defense forces destroyed 31 drones in the area during Putin's trip to the Kursk region.
On the day of the visit, Kremlin correspondent from Kommersant, Andrei Kolesnikov, noted that the situation was not without tension. He said, "When the president's motorcade was moving through the region, UAVs were visible in the sky - they are clearly noticeable in the video footage I watched," Kolesnikov mentioned. The journalist asserted that the president was traveling by car.
Putin visited the Kursk region on May 20, marking his first trip to the area since the Ministry of Defense declared the region liberated from Ukrainian forces. Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that 31 drones were shot down over the Kursk region from the evening of May 20 to the early morning of May 21, with no reports of any drones being downed during the day.