Ukrainian reconnaissance men destroyed 2 Russian helicopters in the Black Sea. Another helicopter was also shot down, according to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.

According to the updated data, as a result of a successful operation of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine in the Black Sea near the temporarily occupied Crimea on December 31, special forces of the Group 13 unit destroyed two Russian Mi-8 helicopters using Magura V5 missiles equipped with marine drones.

According to preliminary information, the crews of these Russian aircraft were also eliminated.

“One more Russian helicopter was hit by fire and managed to land,” the scouts added.

Downing of Russian Mi-8 helicopter

Before that, there was information about one downed Russian Mi-8 helicopter. As previously reported, on December 31, Ukrainian reconnaissance men downed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter. For the first time in the world, the operation was carried out using a Magura V5 maritime strike drone.

As the head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov later said, Magura V5 drones had attacked Russian air targets several times before. However, then the Russian equipment still reached the coastline, although it was shot down. On December 31, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down and crashed into the water.

The downing of the Russian helicopter was also reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the calculation of losses for December 31. So far, since the beginning of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have destroyed 330 Russian helicopters.

In 2024, Russia suffered record losses – 430,790 soldiers. This number is nearly equivalent to 36 motorized infantry divisions, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reports.

According to the statement, the enemy sustained more total losses last year than in 2022 and 2023. The largest losses in a single month and throughout the entire full-scale war were recorded in December – 48,670 Russian soldiers.

The previous record for Russian army casualties in terms of military personnel was set in November 2024, with 45,720 soldiers lost.

In addition, Ukraine’s Defense Forces destroyed or damaged 3,689 enemy tanks last year, which equals approximately 119 tank battalions. The most tanks were destroyed in May, when 31 enemy tanks were struck in just one day, on May 12. This amount of equipment represents the size of a tank battalion.

In total, Ukrainian forces destroyed or damaged 8,956 enemy armored combat vehicles – the equivalent of more than 37 motorized infantry divisions. The largest number of enemy equipment was destroyed in October 2024 – 923 units. The cost of this destroyed armored equipment for Russia was estimated to be at least half a billion dollars.

Last year, Ukrainian defenders also destroyed 13,050 units of enemy artillery, which would be enough to equip 725 artillery divisions.

Russian losses

The Russian regime has been attempting to conceal the losses of its military forces in the war against Ukraine. Losses among private military companies, mercenaries, and other paramilitary formations are also being kept under wraps.

According to Ukraine’s General Staff, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukrainian forces have eliminated over 792,000 Russian soldiers.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia has lost more than 98,000 mobilized soldiers between September 21, 2022, and October 31, 2024.

Over the past day, on January 1, soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine destroyed 10 units of Russian equipment while repelling a Russian assault. A Russian occupant was also taken prisoner, according to the head of the National Guard of Ukraine, Oleksandr Pivnenko.

During the repulsion of the Russian assault along the front line, the following were destroyed:

• 2 tanks;
• 4 units of armored vehicles;
• 4 units of automotive vehicles;
• 2 artillery systems;
• 2 ammunition warehouses;

“We defeated 31 Russian troop concentrations. 1 Russian occupant who survived the assault was taken prisoner,” Pivnenko writes.

The video also shows the special forces of the Omega Wings unit.

Situation at front

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 140 combat engagements were recorded over the past day. Russian occupants attacked most of all in the Pokrovsk sector.

Russia’s losses amounted to 1,370 personnel. In particular, the Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed:

• 4 tanks;
• 13 armored combat vehicles;
• 20 artillery systems.

A shooting at a bar in Montenegro has resulted in 12 deaths. The country’s authorities are considering a complete ban on weapons, the news agency Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.

“We will consider a complete ban on carrying weapons,” said Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić.

12 victims in bar shooting

According to the reports, 12 people, including two children, were killed in Cetinje, and four others were injured.

The victims were killed in five locations: four people in the first and second locations, two children in the third, and one person in the fourth and fifth locations.

The suspect in the deadly shooting, Aco Martinović, attempted to take his own life. He died while being transported to the hospital.

Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Danilo Šaranović stated that the motives are unknown, as Martinović had killed his friends and godfathers.

In 2005, Martinović was sentenced to one year of conditional imprisonment for violent behavior, but he was not considered a person of interest, the Minister added.

The Minister of Internal Affairs noted that in 2022, authorities found weapons and explosives in Martinović’s possession, for which he was sentenced to three months in prison.

Shooting in Montenegro

As reported earlier, on Wednesday, January 1, a man opened fire in a bar in the center of Cetinje, Montenegro, and then went outside and started shooting at passersby. As a result, there were killed and injured victims.