Russia Accused of Staging Attack on Putin's Helicopter

 

Claims of Attack on Putin’s Helicopter Called a Fabrication by Russian Officials

Allegations that President Vladimir Putin's helicopter came under attack during a recent visit to Russia’s Kursk region were manufactured by the Kremlin, according to sources cited by The Moscow Times.

The Russian Defense Ministry initially claimed that during Putin’s secretive trip to Kursk—an area near the Ukrainian border where Kyiv had previously launched incursions—his aircraft was targeted by Ukrainian drones. Russian Air Force commander Yuri Dashkin told state media that Putin’s helicopter was in the "epicenter" of a large-scale drone assault and that all enemy drones were successfully repelled.

However, The Moscow Times, citing current and former Russian officials, reported that this account was part of a deliberate public relations effort. The aim, sources said, was to portray Putin as sharing in the sacrifices of ordinary Russians impacted by Ukraine’s drone warfare, which has disrupted flights and struck deep into Russian territory.

Putin’s May 20 trip to Kursk—his first visit there since Ukraine’s attacks on the region—was kept under wraps until he had returned to Moscow. During the visit, he spoke to volunteers and inspected the under-construction Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.

Unnamed Russian officials told The Moscow Times that Putin’s safety was never truly at risk. His movements are typically planned months in advance and his security is handled by a vast contingent involving the Presidential Security Service, the FSB, the National Guard, and the Interior Ministry. The president never flies alone, especially in areas close to active conflict.

Military expert Ivan Stupak noted that if the official version were accurate, it would signal a severe lapse in Russia’s presidential security—given that even Putin’s routine flights are often escorted by fighter jets.

Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security denied any involvement in an attempted attack on Putin’s helicopter.

One anonymous Russian official told The Moscow Times: “If this really happened, the president wasn’t just threatened by enemy drones—there was a real chance his helicopter could have been hit by our own air defenses.”

Despite Moscow's insistence that it has full control of the Kursk region, the Institute for the Study of War reports that fighting continues, and Russian forces are not making meaningful progress in their offensive operations. Drones remain a key part of Ukraine’s military strategy, targeting Russian forces and infrastructure deep inside the country.