A Belarusian military helicopter shot down a Russian drone near the Ukrainian border on Saturday, according to Ukrainian intelligence sources cited by RBC-Ukraine.
The drone, identified as a Russian Gerbera model, was intercepted while flying through Belarusian airspace en route to Ukraine. The incident reportedly occurred on July 12, when a Belarusian Mi-24 helicopter conducting routine airspace control detected the UAS and destroyed it.
The wreckage of the drone fell in the Gomel region of southeastern Belarus, not far from the Ukrainian border.
According to the same Ukrainian sources, at least three Russian drones were operating in Belarusian airspace at the time. It is unclear whether the others continued their mission or returned to Russian-controlled territory.
The Gerbera drone is believed to be a decoy system, designed to simulate the radar signature of an armed UAS in order to distract or confuse air defense systems. Its use has increased in recent months as Russia attempts to probe and overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.
This is not the first time a Gerbera drone has drawn regional attention. Just two days earlier, on July 10, Lithuania scrambled fighter jets in response to an unidentified drone that crossed into its airspace from Belarus. The incident prompted emergency protective measures, with senior government officials briefly sheltering. The drone later crashed near the shuttered Shumsk border checkpoint, roughly one kilometer from Belarusian territory.
Lithuania’s National Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė later confirmed that the drone involved in that incident was also a Russian Gerbera model. Its flight path, reportedly traversing parts of Ukraine and Belarus before entering Lithuania, remains under investigation.
Neither Belarusian nor Russian officials have publicly commented on this most recent incident.
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Post Image Credit: RBC Ukraine
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