The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published an interview with one of the Ukrainian pilots who flew to the blocked Mariupol with the help of the defenders of the city. According to the pilot, the operations were led by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, so they were all secret.. Because of this time, even the crews did not have time to understand and study all the nuances.

“There was a secret operation, there was little time for understanding all the nuances for the crew. GUR gave a lot of information and intelligence in a short period of time. Someone had a day, someone had a week to prepare, and someone had a few hours, ”says the pilot.

He added that each flight was prepared individually.. The main difficulty was that aid had to be delivered 100 km deep into the territory controlled by the occupiers with saturated air defense.

" It was almost impossible to accomplish. According to tactics, according to all mathematical calculations, this was almost impossible to do, but practice showed that it was possible to do it, and we performed. Only in the landing zone there were three different anti-aircraft missile systems that blocked the landing zone and the affected area, ”said the pilot..

The pilot added that the greatest excitement was when the crew went to the helicopter, but during the flight it was already perceived as work..

He also said that the pilots tried to pass the air defense zone and not enter it.. However, there were situations in which this could not be done, in particular, during the delivery of cargo and the evacuation of the wounded from Mariupol. According to him, the pilots understood that they were taking risks..

During the flight, already from Mariupol, six kilometers from the city, an enemy missile hit the helicopter, and one engine failed. The second helicopter, flying behind, was shot down by the Russians, and the crew died.

“On the return route, about six kilometers, three minutes after takeoff, a MANPADS missile hit my helicopter and one engine failed.. There were 20 wounded on board.. I knew that if we landed in the field, how to pick them up, how to evacuate. Need another helicopter. And this is an unplanned operation, and it was impossible. Unfortunately, the other helicopter that followed behind was less fortunate, the entire crew died, ”said the pilot..

[see_also ids\u003d"

Russia could have agreed to the evacuation of the military from Azovstal in order to proclaim Mariupol taken as soon as possible. The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) came to this conclusion..

About what Azov was born from and how he turned into the elite of the Ukrainian army? Why did the Ukrainian authorities, always fearing him, still not touch him and let him develop? Who can save them? Read in an interview with Inna Vedernikova Azov instructor Georgy Kuparashvili " Why the world should save "