{"id":1088,"date":"2026-04-27T01:54:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T05:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/?p=1088"},"modified":"2026-04-27T01:54:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T05:54:51","slug":"russian-africa-corps-helicopter-downed-by-rebel-missile-in-mali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/video\/russian-africa-corps-helicopter-downed-by-rebel-missile-in-mali\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian Africa Corps Helicopter Downed by Rebel Missile in Mali"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">(KIDAL REGION, MALI) \u2013 A Russian Africa Corps helicopter, most likely a Mi-8 transport, has been shot down by rebels in northern Mali, marking another aviation loss for the Kremlin controlled paramilitary group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">Footage verified last Friday shows the burning wreckage of the helicopter at an unspecified location in the Kidal area. The Russian Telegram channel Fighter Bomber confirmed the loss, reporting that both the crew and a mobile fire team on board were killed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">The channel identified the cause as a surface to air missile, likely a man portable air defence system (MANPADS). The helicopter was reportedly operating in the Gao region when it was struck.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">The Russian Africa Corps, the Kremlin managed successor to the Wagner mercenary group, routinely operates Mi-8 helicopters for transporting mobile fire teams across the continent. While the unit is not technically part of the Russian army, navy, or air force, the majority of its weaponry is supplied by the Russian Ministry of Defence. Some equipment may also be drawn from Mali\u2019s own inventory, which includes Mi-8 helicopters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">Malian rebels, who launched a new offensive in the country this week, claimed responsibility for the shootdown. The loss comes amid a significant insurgent push that has already seen Russian forces flee a base near Kidal after being surrounded. The destruction of the Mi-8 further degrades the Africa Corps\u2019 airlift capability in the Sahel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">The precise location of the incident remains unconfirmed, though it is reported to have occurred in the Gao area of Mali.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\">The footage was featured by the open source intelligence channel Suchomimus on YouTube.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Russian Helicopter Shot Down in Mali by MANPAD (Likely Mi-8)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ygw9nKyfKmo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(KIDAL REGION, MALI) \u2013 A Russian Africa Corps helicopter, most likely a Mi-8 transport, has been shot down by rebels in northern Mali, marking another aviation loss for the Kremlin controlled paramilitary group. Footage verified last Friday shows the burning wreckage of the helicopter at an unspecified location in the Kidal area. The Russian Telegram channel Fighter Bomber confirmed the loss, reporting that both the crew and a mobile fire team on board were killed. The channel identified the cause as a surface to air missile, likely a man portable air defence system (MANPADS). The helicopter was reportedly operating in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":32,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,18,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-africa","category-top-stories","category-video","entry","rows"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1086,"url":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/video\/russian-africa-corps-encircled-forced-to-negotiate-exit-and-desert-malian-troops\/","url_meta":{"origin":1088,"position":0},"title":"Russian Africa Corps Encircled, Forced to Negotiate Exit and Desert Malian Troops","author":"Rupert Finch","date":"April 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"(KIDAL, MALI) \u2013 Russian paramilitary forces have conducted a hasty withdrawal from a military base near Kidal, northern Mali, after rebel groups and Al-Qaeda affiliates encircled the position, according to video footage and reports verified on Friday. 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The retreat marks a significant blow to the Kremlin\u2019s years long strategy to entrench itself across the Sahel region. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Africa&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Africa","link":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/category\/africa\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/5td9bW2PXE0\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":116,"url":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/video\/ukrainian-fpv-drone-destroys-russian-ka-52-attack-helicopter\/","url_meta":{"origin":1088,"position":4},"title":"Ukrainian FPV Drone Destroys Russian Ka-52 Attack Helicopter","author":"Rupert Finch","date":"March 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"(DONETSK, UKRAINE) \u2013 A Ukrainian First Person View (FPV) drone has successfully intercepted and destroyed a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter in the Donetsk region. 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The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Europe&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Europe","link":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/ACjCP-Dt3GY\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1154,"url":"https:\/\/jakony.com\/frontpage\/video\/russian-war-bloggers-describe-deepening-economic-and-frontline-crisis\/","url_meta":{"origin":1088,"position":5},"title":"Russian War Bloggers Describe Deepening Economic and Frontline Crisis","author":"Freja Nielsen","date":"April 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"(TUAPSE, KRASNODAR KRAI) \u2013 The Russian oil terminal and refinery at Tuapse is ablaze once again following a further devastating drone attack by Ukraine, as Russian military bloggers express growing alarm over frontline conditions facing their forces. 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