Russian Mi-24 combat helicopters open fire at Ukrainian border guards in Donbas

Russian Mi-24 combat helicopters fired at Ukrainian border guards for the first time since the outbreak of hostilities in Donbas, stated spokesman for the National Security Council Information Centre, Andrei Lysenko, at a press briefing on August 26. "On August 25, a sabotage and intelligence group attempted to cross the border from the side of the Russian Federation at the Krasna Talivka checkpoint. It was stopped at 15:00 by automatic fire from a well disguised border patrol group. Reinforcements from combat teams of border guards soon arrived at the spot, and a battle with the Russian invaders ensued, lasting 2.5 hours. The Russian subversive group was supported by fire with mortars, 2 BTRs and 2 IFVs coming from the Russian Federation. In addition, Ukrainian border guards were attacked by rockets from 2 Mi-24 combat helicopters of the Russian Armed Forces. During the battle 4 guards were killed and 3 wounded." Mr. Lysenko noted that thanks to heroic actions of the border guards the attempt to break through the border failed, that the Russian side suffered losses and that the injured and killed subversives were evacuated on IFVs under helicopter and BTR fire. [hr]Source: rnbo.gov.ua , translated by Alya Shandra, edited by Iain Hall