Moscow says it shot down two helicopters that evacuated Ukrainian military leaders

The Russian army said on Tuesday it shot down two Ukrainian helicopters seeking to evacuate leaders of a nationalist battalion defending the besieged port of Mariupol, while once more calling on these defenders to lay down their arms.

“This morning, April 5, around Mariupol, a new attempt by the kyiv regime to evacuate leaders of the nationalist Azov battalion was aborted. Two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters, trying to reach the city from the sea, were shot down by man-portable anti-aircraft systems”Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.