Russian Helicopters Mistakenly Fire at Civilians During Exercise

Photo credit: Megapolis / YouTube
Photo credit: Megapolis / YouTube

From Popular Mechanics

A helicopter accidentally fired at civilians during Russia's Zapad 2017 wargames, an event which was captured on video by bystanders. At least two people are seriously injured according to the Russian outlet 66.ru.

The incident took place on Tuesday when, according to an unnamed source, a technical glitch caused one Ka-52 helicopter to fire air-to-surface missiles in the direction of bystanders, likely journalists. The videos of the incident don't show much in the way of aftermath, but reports suggest two cars caught on fire as a result of the blast.

The Russian Defense Ministry, for its part, disputes this version of events, saying in a statement published by the Moscow Times that:

[A]ll social media messages about 'rounds on a crowd of journalists,' 'a large number of seriously wounded' are either a deliberate provocation or someone's personal stupidity. [Video footage] recorded an event that occurred at another time, when army aviation helicopter crews practiced ground attacks as part of a tactical exercise.

Russia's Zapad 2017 games are a joint exercise between Russia and its neighbor Belarus, and while official statements say they involve roughly 10,000 servicemen from both, some in NATO believe the actual numbers are much higher and that the games serve to move troops around to prepare for actual military action.

Source: 66.ru via The Moscow Times

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