Ukrainian Border Guards Use Stinger Anti-Aircraft Missiles in Bakhmut

Soldiers with the State Border Service of Ukraine used an American FIM-92 Stinger Man-Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) to shoot down Russian aircraft in Bakhmut, Ukraine, video released on April 26 shows.

The Ukrainian State Border Service said, “Ukrainian border guards protect the sky over Bakhmut from Russian aircraft. 45-year-old Valery has a special motivation to repel the enemy. In 2014, he had to leave his native Luhansk, and last year – Severodonetsk. Having taken his family to a safe place, the man came to the military commissariat because he does not want to become a displaced person for the third time.”

Video released by the service on April 26 shows Valery and another soldier patrolling and watching the skies for Russian aircraft.

“I never served in the army. I didn’t know that instead of a laptop and financial reports I would now be standing with and American MANPADS shooting down enemy planes,” the soldier identified as Valery says, according to subtitles provided by the State Border Service of Ukraine. Credit: State Border Service of Ukraine via Storyful