In the spring of 2014, the Donetsk region found itself at the epicenter of turbulent events: for the first time, Russia—having dropped the mask of a friendly neighbor—began seizing Ukrainian territories using pro-Russian mercenaries and, later, its regular army. Numerous settlements were occupied. As early as May, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with volunteer battalions, began liberating settlements in the region. Today, it is important to preserve the memory of those events and of the heroes who bravely stood up to defend Ukraine from the very first days of the war and who paid—and continue to pay—an exorbitant price for our freedom.
On June 24, 2014, the crew of the Mi-8 MT helicopter (“63rd Yellow”), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Andriy Belkin, delivered cargo to the Sloviansk area and picked up a group of specialists from the Security Service of Ukraine who were installing telecommunications equipment in the ATO zone. However, despite the ten-day ceasefire declared on June 20, after taking off from Mount Karachun, the helicopter was shot down by Russian terrorists using a man-portable air defense system.
According to eyewitness accounts, an armed group of terrorists was waiting for the helicopter to take off. After launching the missile from the MANPADS, they fled toward the nearest settlement. As a result of the missile strike, the helicopter exploded and crashed near the village of Novoselivka in the Sloviansk district. A fire broke out, causing the ammunition to detonate.
As a result of the crash, all nine people on board were killed:
- the crew, consisting of Commander Lieutenant Colonel Andriy Belkin (a career officer who had participated in UN-led peacekeeping missions in Liberia since 2007), navigator Major Dmytro Shyngur and flight engineer Major Ruslan Mazunov (mobilized in the spring of 2014);
- two flight gunners, Senior Soldiers Oleksiy Volokhov and Oleksandr Kondakov, from the 3rd Separate Special Forces Regiment;
- four SBU employees: Lieutenant Colonel Ihor Horbenko, a communications officer at Special Operations Center “A”; Lieutenant Colonel Volodymyr Shkira, a senior operative in particularly important cases at the Department for Counterintelligence Protection of State Interests in the Field of Information Security; Captain Oleksandr Petryshchuk; and Senior Warrant Officer Marko Shpak from Special Operations Center “A.”
Let us honor the memory of those who gave their lives for our peaceful future!