War in Ukraine: Moscow says it shot down two helicopters evacuating Ukrainian military leaders in Mariupol
Sylvie Claire / April 6, 2022
The Russian army claimed on Tuesday to have shot down two Ukrainian helicopters seeking to evacuate leaders of a nationalist battalion defending the besieged port of Mariupol, while once again calling on these defenders to lay down their arms.
This morning, 5 April, around Mariupol, a new attempt by the Kiev regime to evacuate leaders of the nationalist Azov battalion was aborted. Two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters, trying to reach the city from the sea, were shot down by portable anti-aircraft systems, said Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
The latter assured that Moscow had proposed Tuesday morning to the Ukrainian fighters to lay down their arms and leave the city via an agreed route to the territory under Kiev control.
According to him, the Ukrainian army, however, ignored this proposal. Since Kiev is not interested in saving the lives of its military, Mariupol will be freed from nationalists, added Igor Konashenkov.
Last week, he had already assured that the Russian army had shot down over the Sea of Azov a Ukrainian helicopter that had come to evacuate commanders of the Azov battalion, which has been fiercely defending Mariupol for weeks.