© Sputnik / Evgeny Biyatov
The entire crew was killed in the incident, which occurred during a training flight, the military has confirmed. Local emergency services earlier reported at least four casualties.
While the exact cause of the crash remains unknown, initial data suggests a possible equipment malfunction. A special investigative group has been dispatched to the crash site to carry out a probe, where the aircraft's black boxes have already been recovered.
This is the second fatal incident involving a Mi-8 helicopter within the last week. On May 19, four crew members were killed in a similar accident northwest of Moscow.
Developed in the Soviet Union in the mid-1960s, Mi-8 military transport and multipurpose helicopters are considered among the most reliable and heavily produced choppers in the world. The aircraft are still manufactured in Russia and are actively used in more than 50 countries.
Comment: Despite governments around the world continuing to enforce the lockdown in numerous ways, and even increasing the Orwellian measures, this is just the latest revision to the numbers reflecting the true nature of the virus - flu-like but less harmful, for the vast majority - and it further highlights the disastrous mistake the general public made by believing the government propaganda over their own lived experience: