"We fly low and fast": how military helicopter pilots work

Helicopters are "birds of steel" that are part of the Army. Since 2014, the crews have been performing missions at the front: helping to evacuate the wounded, firing to support ground units, and carrying out highly complex operations, landing special forces in cities surrounded by Russians.

On the day of our meeting, the aviators were planning to conduct training flights. The combat Mi's were ready to take to the skies when the pilots received a notification that enemy aircraft had taken off. It was extremely risky to take off in such conditions, so the flight had to be postponed.

However, while the air raid alert lasted, we had the opportunity to talk to the military.

A HOME THAT REMAINS IN MEMORIES

Kyrylo, 32, a pilot and spokesman for the brigade, spoke about the unit's work in the Zaporizhzhia sector. The frontline is now more static, and the aviators have to work in very difficult conditions.

- In the first days of the full-scale invasion - March 2022 - we worked mainly from horizontal flight. That is, you see the enemy's face and equipment. And now the frontline is different, and we are performing more risky tasks, supporting our military," says the pilot.

It's no secret that Ukrainian aviators need a more modern fleet of helicopters and new generations of weapons that could target enemy equipment from a greater distance. The military assure us that if they did, they would be able to perform their missions much more effectively.

The war caught Kyrylo in Kyiv: he was stationed at Boryspil airport with his comrades.

- On February 24, around 10 a.m., I flew to Gostomel, when enemy soldiers were already there, and the enemy had landed," he recalls.

He was born and raised in the Luhansk region, in a town located 5 kilometers from the Russian border. Now he says he hasn't had a home since 2014. During the occupation of Luhansk region for almost ten years, the man has mentioned home many times. One day he would like to return and see how everything has changed there.

MISSION "MARIUPOL"

For almost two years of full-scale war, Kyrylo has completed many combat missions. His brigade destroyed columns of Russian soldiers.

- We were 200-500 meters away from them. I really saw the enemy's face. I didn't feel anything when I fired rockets. It was not me who came to them. I am defending my home, which was already taken away from me in 2014 and now they came to take it away again. I did not invite them," says Kyrylo.

Among the pilot's completed missions, there is one that he calls not super-complex, but super-risky: he had to deliver a landing party to Mariupol, which was surrounded by Russians.

- Any task performed by a military man is risky, and the Mariupol mission was extremely risky. When you perform a task in the area of responsibility of your troops, if something happens, you can get help. But in Mariupol, at best, you could be captured, at worst, you could die, and it was not known whether your body would get home. Morally and psychologically it was hard," says the pilot.

"Before getting behind the wheel of his warbird, he had four hours to rest. But the tension was off the charts, and he didn't get to rest. The pilot was trying to figure out what to do: whether to give his documents to someone for safekeeping, or whether to transfer money from his card to his wife's card, who knew nothing about the mission...

- "The flight crew is very superstitious," Kyrylo smiles, but this is no joke to him.

During the conversation, he seemed to return to that day. He and his partner knew where they were going to cross the contact line, and when it happened, the tension grew even more.

- Later, when I saw the guys who were meeting us, I felt as if I had received a gift as a child that I really wanted. We delivered the people - half the job was done, now we had to go back. When we reached the territory controlled by Ukraine, my whole body started to hurt. Nerves," the fighter recalls.

A QUARTER OF A CENTURY IN THE SKY

On the day we worked with the aviation brigade, a pilot named Oleksiy was scheduled to perform a training flight in an Mi-8. Together with the helicopter pilot, we approached his combat vehicle and asked to get inside.

- I call it "Swallow". I am very attached to this type of equipment. This is the first helicopter I flew in as a child. It has been improving over time, and I am getting older. The machines are alive and dear to us. Before each flight, you can talk to the helicopter, ask it not to let you down, and after the flight, you should definitely thank it and pet it," says Oleksiy.

He confirms Kyrylo's words about the superstitious nature of aviators. He notes that it is forbidden to take pictures before a combat mission. "You can't say 'last'. And if you need to sign somewhere, it should be in blue ink.

Oleksiy has dreamed of the sky since childhood. His father worked in civil aviation, the family lived in an airfield town, and the boy often visited the airfield.

- I dreamed of becoming a civilian pilot, dreamed of different types of transportation, of wearing a white shirt, black tie, and blue suit," says the pilot.

"He graduated from flight college, but there was no work in those years, and he was offered to join the army and become a military pilot.

- He agreed. "I have been in this profession since 1999. On January 20, I was 25 years old. If not for the war, I would have retired," he jokes.

On February 24, 2022, at about 3 a.m., when the first explosions occurred, Oleksiy was in a unit in Kherson with other soldiers.

- Everything was done after the alarm: light camouflage, packing, everything we were taught. About four "calibers" came at our unit and exploded on the airfield. The adrenaline was going through the roof. We acted on command. We saved everything we could. We saw enemy helicopters flying over Kherson. We saw convoys leaving for the Kherson-Mykolaiv highway. The feelings were... not very good," he recalls.

- "What can you compare them to?" I ask.

- "With nothing. At first, there is a cold numbness: someone says, "boiling water scalded me," but here it was as if they doused me with very cold water. You stand there for a while, and nothing comes to mind. And then it kicks in and you act on automatic. It was very difficult to convince the family to get in the car and leave. The civilians did not understand that it was serious," he says.

ANOTHER WAR

Oleksiy says he remembers all his combat missions. But when asked about a target he is proud of, he says that there are no targets, only completed missions.

He recalls how he once got to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he and other pilots were on a peacekeeping mission.

- There were also combat missions there, but it was a different war. When I returned to Ukraine in 2014, it was a completely different one. You quickly re-adjust and perform tasks, but with the adjustment that this is happening in your native country, your brothers are fighting, and you are defending your homeland. You put everything into this word: the health and lives of your children, relatives, father, mother, neighbors, all Ukrainians. I want our country to be a country of happy people. I am fighting for this," he says.

In 2014, army aviation was mainly used to transport cargo, ammunition, wounded and fallen comrades. Sitting with us inside the Mi-8, Oleksiy recalled how, back in 2014, the cargo cabin of the combat vehicle was packed with soldiers. Some of the guys were missing an arm, some were missing a leg, and the floor of the helicopter was literally covered in blood.

- I can't even describe such times. But we took off, drove the car, passed on the wounded, and still could not get away from it all. I wanted to go out somewhere in the woods and scream. It was very hard... I remember it and let it go through me again. Today, all these tasks continue, but they have become more difficult," says the pilot.

"In the first days of the full-scale invasion, the crews were destroying and shooting enemy columns, but now, unfortunately, this is impossible. The aviator explains that the enemy is not stupid at all: during this time, they have tightened up their troops, "covered up" and learned. However, according to Oleksiy, any task can be accomplished, but some of them require better preparation.

- "Every flight can be one-way, every flight. But if you are alive, you have a guardian angel, you prepare well, you have help, and you are needed. This means that our mission is not over yet," he said.

TO FLY BETWEEN THE BULLETS

He calls the operation with the codename "Zmeinyi Island" a mission of increased complexity.

The crew had to strike at enemy positions and land our Special Forces.

- We hit the island with missiles, entered the site nearby, and landed the special forces. Then, literally in front of the windshield, there was a battle going on. Bullets were flying. You realize how dangerous it was and how it could have ended when you see your dead comrades. But at that moment, you just work. You have a task, you are expected to do it, and you try to do it as accurately, correctly and in a short time as possible," says Oleksiy.

The enemy tried to "catch" the Ukrainian military. During the shelling, one of the soldiers was seriously wounded in the arm. He used an assault rifle belt to strap his arm, then the nearby soldiers applied a tourniquet and injected him with painkillers. Oleksiy's crew was flying to another site when they heard about their wounded comrade on the radio and decided to return for him.

- We had a few minutes to fly. Between the shelling, we managed to land, pick up Bohdanchyk and flew to Odesa. We flew at such a speed that the helicopter's specifications do not include this figure. The equipment did not fail. The guy was delivered on time. The doctors said they would restore him," he recalls.

- "Have you ever counted how many of your comrades you saved?" I ask.

- "Never, but I remember their faces... It's a state... I don't know how to convey it. You become a relative or a friend on a subconscious level. Like cells of the same organism," he replies.

- "I think, unfortunately, you had to see the enemy shoot down a helicopter with your comrades. How do you overcome yourself afterwards, how do you force yourself to sit at the helm?

- Our commanders help us in such moments. They do not let us "stagnate". The sooner you get into the cockpit, the sooner the fear goes away. And it's really true.

Oleksiy recalled the day when Russian fighters shot down our Mi-14. There were six crew members on board, and only one survived.

- Search and rescue operations were underway just as our crew was on duty. We received a command, were given the coordinates, went to the search area, and found the downed plane. We saw the helicopter burning up, bodies scattered around. We couldn't understand then whether we were supposed to take only Andriy [a crew member who managed to survive] or the bodies of the dead. We wanted to take everyone, to leave no one behind, but people started writing in our chat: "Guys, take off as soon as possible!", "Take off!", "Take off!". New notifications came every second. We didn't understand what was happening then, we didn't see the whole picture. We picked up Andriy, put the wheels in the air and drove off - and then we were told on the radio not to go to the coastline. Although it was the shortest way, we did as we were told. As it turned out, enemy fighters were already waiting for us on the coastline. They shot down the Mi-14 and were looking for a plane to come to our aid. But God saved us," said Oleksiy.

WE ARE WHERE YOU NEED US

Pilots dream of flying over a free country. They say that they would like to visit again those villages where they were forced to plant war birds right in the middle of the streets.

- People came up to us and asked: "Guys, what do you need? Maybe water, tea or a snack?" We were never left alone. Our people are very friendly," says Oleksiy.

He admits that during the Great War, the picture that pilots see from the sky has changed a lot.

- Before the war, I could fly to an altitude of 600 meters or even higher, but now I don't even have that desire. You fly low and fast. When you are fighting over our land, protecting the guys, covering them, and repelling the enemy, you see broken villages and ruined buildings. In one of the villages we saw someone walking, most likely an elderly man. We realize that there is no life there anymore, and he is walking and waving to us. And we were like: "Our people cannot be defeated," Oleksiy adds.

It is obvious that it is very difficult for him to talk about this.

His fellow soldier Kyrylo, when asked if he had ever imagined victory, said he had thought about it. But victory for a soldier is not just about reaching the state borders of 1991.

- Let's say they came out - and then what? What has changed for the military? Nothing. Russia will not become our friend. We, speaking about the military, will still be in constant readiness, we will be on duty in the same way. Victory is when they leave our land and never come back. And our children will not see the war. The war that I saw," Kyrylo said.

"Artillery is called the gods of war, infantry is called the queen of the fields, and aviation is..." she asked Kyrylo to continue.

- "We are where we are needed," the pilot replied without hesitation.

Olha Zvonariova, Zaporizhzhia

Photo by Dmytro Smolenko