Russian forces are stealing Ukrainian outdated Mi-2 training helicopters in areas they have occupied, according to MilitaryAviation.in.UA.
Photos that have appeared on social media show a Russian military column that gets shipped Ukrainian Mi-2 helicopters out from the Chornobayivka airfield near Kherson, in the southern part of Ukraine.
Apparently, the Russian military succeeded in capturing helicopters that were in bad repair and could not fly away during the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24.
The Mil Mi-2 is a Soviet-era small, lightly armed turbine-powered helicopter, which has the NATO reporting name Hoplite.
The three-blade main rotor is mounted on top of a large hump above the body midsection. Two turboshaft engines are mounted side-by-side on top of the cabin, forming a hump, with round air intakes above the cockpit and oval exhausts on the sides of the engines. The small, bus-like fuselage with fixed landing gear features a stepped-up cockpit and rounded nose, and a tadpole-shaped body when viewed from the bottom. The tapered tail boom has small, unequally tapered flats and a thin, swept-back fin with a rotor on the right.
The helicopter was designed to be used for transportation of personnel and cargo, and for training and reconnaissance tasks including rescue operations.
The first prototype of the Mi-2 made its first flight in September 1961. According to a 1964 agreement, its further development, manufacture and marketing was transferred to Poland. A series production at the Polish PZL company began two years later.