Russian forces invaded Ukraine last week
Russian forces invade

This is the moment a Russian helicopter falls to its death after being struck by a Ukrainian missile.

While the video does not show immediate damage to aircraft, Ukrainian defences claim it was shot down in Zhytomyr, in the northwest of Ukraine.

The aircraft is reportedly a Russian Kamov KA-52 helicopter and was attacked by soldiers from the Ukrainian 95th Air Assault Brigade, using a Martlet, known as Starstreak in the UK.

Footage captures the moment the aircraft is intercepted and shot by enemy troops.

The short clip has been shared widely, but there have been no details about when the missile struck or the number of deaths.

The Russian single-seat attack helicopter has been dubbed the ‘Black Shark’ and was once described as Russia’s ‘deadliest helicopter’ because of its battlefield management system which allows it to share data with other aircraft to coordinate attack operations.

It has been reported that within 30 seconds of the Martlet being launched, it was hit.

High-tech Starstreak missiles can hit targets the size of a tennis ball travelling at the speed of sound.

The missiles are short-range, man-portable, air-defence systems and are optimised to provide defence against air threats. They can be configured to be used in man-portable and vehicle-mounted battlefield roles.

Earlier this month, Britain vowed to join the US in sending further long-range missile systems to Ukraine to help in the fight against the Kremlin’s forces.

The British Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces continue to disrupt Russian command and control “with successful strikes deep behind Russian lines.”

This attack on the high-tech Russian helicopter comes after at least 18 civilians were killed when a Russian missile struck a crowded shopping mall in Ukraine’s central city of Kremenchuk on Monday.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said as many as 1,000 people were shopping at the time of the attack and it is unlikely that many people will be found alive in the rubble.

Firefighters and soldiers were seen in horrifying footage pulling out mangled pieces of metal and wading through rubble as they searched for survivors.

Mr Zelensky said it was impossible to “expect decency and humanity” from Moscow and that the shopping mall presented “no threat to the Russian army.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the attack demonstrated “once again the depths of cruelty and barbarism to which the Russian leader will sink.”