The names of several pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces who died during the armed rebellion of the Wagner PMC mercenaries have become known. The Important Stories spoke to the brother of one of them. Earlier, the head of PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that no one was injured from his actions.
One of the dead is 24-year-old helicopter pilot Kirill Babaev from Taganrog. On June 25, one of his friends wrote on social networks: “On June 23, while performing a combat mission, my old comrade and good friend Kirill Babaev died. From elementary school, he dreamed of becoming a military man and defending his homeland. Throughout the school, he was an example of courage, willpower and spirit for everyone. After graduating with a gold medal, Kirill entered one of the best higher military schools in order to become a helicopter pilot in the future. There are other publications about the death of Babaev, the authors of which write that his helicopter "was shot down by the air defense of the PMC Wagner", note "Important stories".
Journalists of the publication contacted the brother of the deceased, who said that the Ministry of Defense informed the family about the death of Kirill, but did not specify under what circumstances this happened. According to his brother, Kirill was on board a non-attack helicopter (probably a Mi-8MTPR – an electronic warfare helicopter) that "crashed on June 23", presumably near Lugansk.
“I asked this question [about how Kirill died], they said that it is still unknown, then there will be information. [The fact that] “Wagners” are not sure yet, because the rebellion began after the helicopter crashed. This version is possible, but there is no clear evidence of any kind, ”the helicopter pilot’s brother quoted the publication as saying.
The other deceased is Denis Oleinikov. Several bloggers wrote about him at once. “These two guys are no longer with us. On the left is the navigator of the Ka-52. Release of 2022. A wife and a little daughter were left without a father, ”wrote pro-Russian military blogger Kirill Fedorov.
Later, blogger Fedorov later supplemented the post about Oleinikov and the second crew member with a message about the death of another military man: “06/13/2023 flew after the Dancer on the PSO. He and his navigator were both very good people.” Probably, “Dancer” is the call sign of the second deceased.
Fedorov also said that he transferred 1 million rubles in donations to the relatives of two dead Mi-8 pilots. According to one of the screenshots from the banking application, it can be seen that the name of the wife of one of the pilots begins with S. From the publications in Fedorov’s channel, it is only known about the second pilot that he was born in 1999.
Earlier it was reported that the losses of the Russian army as a result of a military mutiny could range from four to 20 people. In addition, Wagner PMC mercenaries destroyed at least two combat helicopters and one aircraft.
Telegram-channel "Baza" reported that the first helicopter was shot down at about five o'clock in the morning on June 24 during a clash near the Voronezh village of Elizavetovka. All crew members managed to escape. The second helicopter crashed five hours later near the village of Filonovo.
Also on the morning of June 24, the Wagenrovites fired a rocket at an Il-22 aircraft, which crashed near the village of Kantemirovka. According to preliminary information, four people died as a result of the fall.
Channel One military commander Irina Kuksenkova claimed that there were 10 people on board the downed plane.
“When Prigozhin was already asked at the headquarters of the Southern Military District why [the Il-22 was shot down], because this aircraft does not strike, but performs other functions, he said – and the fool PVE in the convoy shot down everything that took off,” she said.
According to the propagandist, after these words, the head of the Wagner PMC agreed to pay 50 million compensation to the families of the dead pilots.
Also on the evening of June 24 , it was reported that a Ka-52 Alligator helicopter was shot down near the Voronezh village of Komintern and two dead pilots were reported.
In total, according to the Flightbomber Telegram channel, we can talk about six destroyed helicopters. Sibir.Realii wrote about 20 dead servicemen.