– This Helicopter Armada In Ukraine Is Absolutely Terrifying:
The situation in Ukraine right now is clearly terrible, and only getting worse, with gunmen seizing the airport and a coast guard station in the Crimea. What might not make it any better, though, is this veritable armada of helicopters flying overhead. Seriously, it’s bigger than most entire air forces.
The title of the video says that the choppers are headed to Bilbek, the colloquial name for Sevastapol Airport in the Crimea, though that’s probably just a guess. It’s entirely possible, though, seeing as how Ukraine may have already taken the airport back. It’s all a bit fluid right now.1
The comments circulating on the various Internets right now pin these as Russian helicopters, though I’m not willing to definitively say that just yet. Both the Ukrainian and the Russian air forces hold large fleets of Mil Mi-24 attack/transport helicopters, which these might be, and it’s difficult to make out the roundels.
Any experts out there in the differences in identifying markings of two extremely similar helicopters? Though it may not make it difference. The situation is almost certainly going to get a lot worse before it gets better.