Russia helicopter fights as Wagner rebels advance: videos
As Russia slides into a frightening civil war seemingly overnight, “Top Gun”-style footage of a Russian Ka-52 Army helicopter managing to deflect a Wagner anti-aircraft missile in Voronezh was among a spate of stunning videos Saturday showing how fast it appears to be going wrong for President Vladimir Putin.
The Strela-10 air defense system, reportedly belonging to the Wagner private mercenary forces led by one-time Putin ally Yevgeny Progozhin, was seen firing at the Russian Ka-52 military helicopter in Voronezh, which is about 300 miles from Moscow.
Another video showed the missile just missing the Ka-52 helicopter.
![Footage of a Russian Ka-52 Army helicopter was seen deflecting a Wagner anti-aircraft missile in Voronezh.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000013149705.jpg?w=686)
![The Wagner paramilitary group shared claimed that one of their vehicles was targeted by Russian forces, on June 24, 2023.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000013149740.jpg?w=1024)
Another video showed a strike on what appeared to be a Wagner-led convoy heading for Moscow on the M-4 highway.
Putin, who reportedly fled from Moscow to St. Petersburg on his private jet, seemed to be caught flat-footed by the Prigozhin’s betrayal.
Hardened fighters from his private militia have seized control of Rostov-on-Don, a city of nearly a million on the Ukraine border that serves as the rear logistical hub for Russia’s entire invasion force, and were moving rapidly north through western Russia.
![A nearby explosion at an oil depot occurred while Wagner's private mercenary forces were allegedly firing missiles at the Russian helicopter.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000013148683.jpg?w=1024)
In the capital, traffic on the Moscow River came to a halt as cops in bulletproof vests and armed with machine guns were spotted near the entrance of the major highway that links Moscow with Voronezh and Rostov-on-Don in apparent expectation of the oncoming Wagner convoy.