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Putin's helicopter came under drone attack last week: Russia

Iran Press TV

Monday, 26 May 2025 2:30 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin's helicopter came under attack by Ukrainian drones as peace talks are ongoing between the two countries to find an end to the Ukraine war.

Putin visited the liberated Kursk Region in a surprise visit last week, a Russian military official told RBC news agency on Sunday.

"We were simultaneously engaged in an air defense battle and ensuring airspace security for the president's helicopter flight," Yury Dashkin, commander of a Russian air defense division, said.

"The helicopter was effectively at the epicenter of the response to the massive drone attack."

"The intensity of the attack during the flight of the aircraft with the Commander-in-Chief over the territory of the Kursk Region increased significantly. Therefore, we simultaneously conducted an air defense battle and ensured the safety of the presidential helicopter's flight in the air," Dashkin said.

The task was fulfilled, "the attack by the enemy's drones was repelled, all airspace targets were destroyed," he added.

The Ukrainian drone attack was carried out on May 20 as Putin visited the border region for the first time since Russian forces pushed Ukrainian forces out of the Kursk Region last month.

During the visit to Kursk, Putin met with volunteers, as well as heads of municipalities, and acting Governor Alexander Khinshtein.

In what seemed to be a retaliatory attack on Sunday, Ukrainian regions came under massive airstrikes that Kiev claimed killed at least 12 people and injured dozens of others.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, who had vowed to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours after taking office, has warned both sides against continuing the war.

In a post on Sunday on his Truth Social platform, Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying that he's "doing his country no favors talking the way he does" against Putin, and that "everything out of his mouth causes problems" for his nation.

He also criticized the Russian leader, saying, "I'm not happy with what Putin is doing."

"I've known him a long time. Always gotten along with him, but he's sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don't like it at all."