Two Ukrainian fighters miraculously survived the crash of an evacuation helicopter.
That day, four Ukrainian Mi-8s arrived at the port of Mariupol. A total of five vehicles took part in the operation. One Mi-24 “Hind” attack helicopter flew into the area of the Zahidnyi District to distract Russian air defenses.
Having picked up the wounded, two helicopters flew toward the village of Rybatske, southwest of the port. One of them was shot down by a MANPADS missile there. After the explosion and crash, only two people on board survived.
video from representatives of the aggressor country
The second missile hit the engine of the helicopter piloted by Yevhen Solovyov. Fortunately, it did not explode. Having warned the other group of vehicles to take a backup route when leaving the port, the pilot managed to get the helicopter with one engine and overloaded with 20 wounded to Ukrainian-controlled territory. For that flight, Solovyov was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.
photo from open sources
In the crash of the Mi-8 shot down near Rybatske, the survivors were Dmytro “Odesyt” Labinskyi of Azov, and Serhiy Babak of HUR.
Dmytro Labinskyi was born in Odesa. Having served a contract in the National Guard, he transferred to Azov. He was waiting to complete his basic military training when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. He participated in the battles in Hravernyi Lane as a machine gunner when Russian special forces broke through there. He was wounded and it was decided to evacuate him by helicopter.
When I came to my senses in a pile of debris, a false thermal target [decoy flares] from our second Mi-8 blew up close to my face. 15 meters away I heard “I've been shot down! I've been shot down!” It was a machine gunner from HUR. He came closer and asked if I could walk. I told him that my back was injured. He examined me. He said that there was no bleeding, helped me up, and we walked across the field away from the crash site.
800 meters away, we saw a shallow ditch and got down there so that we wouldn't be spotted. I spread my arms and looked up at the sky as my back really hurt. Soon we heard shouts “Raise your hands!” First, DPR fighters approached us, then a truck drove up. That's how we ended up in captivity. They took us to some settlement, where they provided us with medical aid, and immediately began interrogations. [1]
photo by a representative of the aggressor state
We were in the port at a position above the bomb shelter together with Oleksandr Vedilin. We had communication: a “satellite” and a generator. On March 30, we took up the watch at 10 p.m. We guarded the territory and discussed the situation until midnight. Oleksandr was confident that the blockade would be lifted, that our forces would break through. I wasn't that optimistic, since the enemy had already deployed a huge number of tanks against us. “Who cares about those tanks? We'll take grenade launchers and fight them back,” Oleksandr was in a combat mood.
From the next morning, only one person was assigned to watch. At seven, Vedilin came to relieve me and we smoked a cigarette each. At dawn, I heard the roar of helicopters taking off, on March 31, there were four of them. Then, there were sounds of distant explosions. Later, the sound of a jet engine. The sound grew louder, and I rushed to the nearest building. After the explosion of the first attack, there were the second and the third waves.
When everything calmed down, I went to the exit and suffered the explosion of the fourth attack. I was thrown back and received a light concussion. It took me some time to come back to my senses. Our fighters came up to me, and I asked them about Oleksandr. They told me that he was either a severe 300 (WIA) or 200 (KIA). We went to the position. The port equipment was scattered, and my feet were sinking in a 30-centimeter layer of ash. Oleksandr was lying in a pool of blood. He was wearing body armor and a helmet, however, a small fragment flew under the helmet. Captain 3rd Rank Oleksandr Vedilin was dead.
photo from open sources
