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Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has released a new batch of videos showing “successful strikes on Ukrainian forces in the Kursk border area.” However, according to analysis carried out by the Telegram channel EjShahid, these videos were once again filmed elsewhere — a fact that The Insider was able to verify.
On August 11, the MoD published a video claiming that “Su-25 aircraft crews struck the enemy in the border area of Kursk.” The Ministry stated, “The strike was carried out using unguided aerial rockets on identified targets. After deploying the weapons, the crews performed an anti-missile maneuver, released flares, and returned to the airfield of departure.”
Despite the MoD’s statement, the video purportedly corroborating its claim was actually filmed not in the Kursk border area, but in two other locations — Soledar and Chasiv Yar, in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
Kamov Ka-52 “Alligator”
The Kamov Ka-52 “Alligator” is a two-seat variant of the Ka-50 “Black Shark” helicopter — hence the title of the video.
The footage of the flight “in the Kursk border area” was actually filmed in Soledar, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Coordinates: 48.683591, 38.075867
Collage: The Insider
The footage of the strikes was filmed in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Coordinates: 48.599091, 37.876960
Collage: EjShahid
On August 15, the Russian MoD posted a video on Telegram titled “The ‘Alligator’ Returns with a Catch Once Again.” The accompanying text stated that “a helicopter crew from the army aviation on a Ka-52 [helicopter] struck a concentration of personnel, armored, and automotive military equipment of Ukrainian forces in the border area of the Kursk Region. According to intelligence reports, all designated targets were successfully destroyed.”
In fact, the video was filmed near the village of Novomykilske in Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast — over 300 km from the Kursk border.
Kamov Ka-52 “Alligator”
The Kamov Ka-52 “Alligator” is a two-seat variant of the Ka-50 “Black Shark” helicopter — hence the title of the video.
The “strikes on Ukrainian forces in the Kursk border area” were actually filmed in Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast. Coordinates: 49.308664, 38.141798
Collage: EjShahid
On August 20, the MoD published yet another video, accompanied by the following description: “The 'Night Hunter' is in action. Army aviation crews on a Mi-28NM helicopter struck a concentration of personnel and armored military equipment of Ukrainian forces in the border area of the Kursk region. The strike was carried out with guided anti-tank missiles. According to intelligence reports, Ukrainian personnel and armored vehicles were destroyed.”
Despite attempts to blur the location in the video, at the 20-second mark, an unblurred section behind the helicopter reveals the actual location — fields near the village of Novovodyane in Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast.
Kamov Ka-52 “Alligator”
The Kamov Ka-52 “Alligator” is a two-seat variant of the Ka-50 “Black Shark” helicopter — hence the title of the video.
The “border area of the Kursk region” in the MoD’s video turned out to be fields in Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast. Coordinates: 49.263218, 38.046207
Collage: EjShahid
This is not the first time Russia’s Ministry of Defense has misrepresented videos as military operations in the Kursk Region and its borders. Previous releases — dated August 9 and August 11 — included footage actually filmed in Ukraine’s Kreminna and Chasiv Yar, with one video even being archival footage.
Another video posted on August 14 claiming to depict “defeated hidden AFU strongholds in the Kursk Region” turned out to be footage filmed in the southern part of Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine.
Kamov Ka-52 “Alligator”
The Kamov Ka-52 “Alligator” is a two-seat variant of the Ka-50 “Black Shark” helicopter — hence the title of the video.