According to tactics and all mathematical calculations, the flight to Azovstal was not just difficult — it was almost impossible.
This was stated by one of the Ukrainian pilots, who delivered cargo and evacuated the wounded from Azovstal, in an interview with the public relations service of the Land Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
According to him, the main difficulty of the operation was that it was necessary to deliver the cargo to the depth of the enemy-occupied territory. All this 100-kilometers distance was characterized by a very dense air defense of the Russians.
Nevertheless, the practice has shown that such a complex task can be performed. Although only in the landing zone there were three different anti-aircraft missile systems of the enemy.
"In general, we try to bypass the area of air defense damage, just not to enter it. But there are tasks where it is simply impossible to do so, such as the delivery of goods and the evacuation of the wounded from Mariupol. And the main thing for us is to know all natural and artificial obstacles. That they help us, instead of, on the contrary, interfering," the pilot said.
It was a secret operation, led by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, so there was little time to understand and clarify all the nuances for the helicopter crew. But at the same time, Directorate gave pilots a lot of intelligence.
According to the pilot, when the military was tasked, everyone understood the risk. There was 90% chance that the pilots will not return.
"But the commander said: how many lives of other people do you value your life? How many people have to die to realize that your life is worth it? And we all understood what was going on. That people didnʼt even have medicine there to provide some basic help. That there was no ammunition, so it was imperative to go there. That is why everyone took this risk. Understanding why and for whom they are doing this," said the pilot.
On the day of the flight, even the weather interfered with the task.
"I will say that on the day when we went out, the weather was not good, and it did not contribute to the task. But despite this, we did everything. Though there were dozens of reasons why we could not do it," said the pilot.
He also admitted that the biggest excitement was on the way to the helicopter before departure.
"And at the moment when we were already in Mariupol, and people were disembarking and unloading the cargo, it was already a feeling of euphoria. It seemed to us that if we came here, and we are now in the zone of destruction of three anti-aircraft missile systems, and we stand here and unload, then we are all. We are like kings of the world. We have already won and everything will be fine. But, unfortunately, it was not the end," said the pilot.
On the way back, three minutes after takeoff, his helicopter was hit by a MANPADS missile, one engine stopped working. Another helicopter, which was going behind, crashed. The whole crew died.
"And after that, as the rocket hit, it was an adrenaline rush, and we just did what we had to do. We had the option to sit on another platform so as not to fly, because we knew we had one engine. But there were 20 wounded on board, and I knew if we were sitting somewhere in the field, how to pick them up, how to evacuate? What will be needed is another helicopter. And this is an unplanned operation, and it was impossible. Therefore, all we had to do was to fly to the landing site,” said the pilot.
- On May 20, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that many pilots delivering food and medicine to the defenders of Mariupol had died.
- Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Defense Ministryʼs intelligence, said that Ukrainian aircraft had flown to Azovstal seven times to replenish the Armed Forcesʼ reserves.