The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian troops attempted to conduct a helicopter landing near the besieged town of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) in Donbass. The operation, which involved an attempt by the Ukrainian military’s special forces to deploy elite troops into the area, was thwarted by Russian forces. According to the ministry, the effort was coordinated by Kirill Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service (HUR). The Russian Defense Ministry stated that “a helicopter landing by a HUR special operations forces group was prevented approximately 1km northwest of the outskirts of the town of Krasnoarmeysk in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic.” All 11 Ukrainian soldiers involved were reported to have been eliminated.
