A stunning video has surfaced capturing the moment a Ukrainian backseat gunner skillfully shot down multiple Russian drones from an open cockpit.
In the footage, the co-pilot of a Yak-52 is seen seated in the plane’s backseat, confidently taking aim with his assault rifle to target the Shahed drones.
One clip reveals a dramatic scene where, following the rifle’s fire, a slim line of smoke trails from the drone’s right wing. The pilot then maneuvers closer, leading to the drone’s explosion over the sea.
The backseat marksman is also recorded bringing down other enemy drones, which erupt into flames, detonate upon crashing in a field, and tumble through the clouds.
These Shahed drones, a major contribution from Iran to Vladimir Putin’s war efforts, have been adapted by Russian forces for strikes against Ukraine.
Footage was released after Russia was hit by a new wave of long-range strikes by the Ukrainian military, including a hit on a key nuclear missile base.
The ‘military barracks’ in the Saratov region was engulfed in flames following a missile and drone alert today.
Engels-2 base is home to Putin’s prized strategic nuclear bombers which have been repeatedly used in KH-101 missile strikes on Ukraine.
A Ukrainian Yak-52 backseat gunner has shot down a Shahed drone from the plane’s open cockpit
Footage captured the co-pilot aiming his assault rifle at the Russian drone before shooting it out of the sky
The video footage comes as Ukrainian forces are hitting Russia with a wave of long-range strikes
There were no reports of any casualties at the airbase located near the city of Engels.
The Ukrainian strike came after new intelligence suggests Putin is plotting a massive autumn offensive, having recruited more Russian men to fight, in an attempt to reverse setbacks.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his secret service agents assess Putin is poised for a huge new mobilisation draft in September or October.
‘We have clear information from intelligence that Russia is preparing a new wave of mobilisation for the autumn, a rather significant one,’ he said.
‘At the same time, the Russians are losing more of their soldiers on the front lines than they are recruiting, and Putin intends to increase attacks and expand this war. He needs more Russians to participate in the assaults.
‘We must proactively protect ourselves from this – at all levels: on the front lines, through our long-range sanctions, through our mid-range strikes, through our diplomacy, and, of course, through communication with everyone who is able to support life and bring peace closer.’
Ukraine has also been flexing its long-distance unmanned aerial power with strikes on oil refineries.
A refinery some 1,170 miles from the front line in the Siberian city of Tyumen exploded earlier today.
Ukrainian forces have drone striked a Russian oil refinery in the Tyumen region
Black smoke erupts from an oil refinery in Ulyanovsk that was hit by Ukrainian drones
Russia’s Amazon, Wildberries, has been attacked by drones ten times in the last week
Putin was visiting Omsk, 338 miles away, before a drone alert was issued ahead of his meeting with Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
In the Ulyanovsk region, kamikaze drones hit another refinery which burst into flames more than 600 miles away from Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine also shared drone footage in a post on X titled: ‘A massive Russian armoured assault on Dobropillia axis ended in failure’.
The post showed drones seconds before impact and said Ukrainian forces destroyed nine Russian tanks, two armoured vehicles, three Grad MLRS and dozens of soldiers.
Yesterday Ukraine suffered a major blow with a Russian attack on an arms exhibition which killed ten and left 70 wounded.
Among the dead was Valentyna Savitska, head of the Centre for International Co-operation and Strategic Communications at the State Security Service.
Her husband, Ihor Solovey, head of the Spravdi Centre for Strategic Communications, said: ‘My family is experiencing a terrible tragedy.’
In the last week, Russia’s Amazon, known as Wildberries, has been hit by drones ten times in a blitz of attacks.
The latest strike which took place today narrowly missed a warehouse in Yekaterinburg over 1,000 miles from the front line but it did destroy delivery trucks and force workers to flee.
It is said that the financial impact the war has had on the Russian economy may soon reach £3billion.