In recent weeks, Russia has stepped up efforts to counter a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks striking deep inside Russian-occupied territory and disrupting Russian military logistics and supply lines to the Crimean Peninsula.
As part of these efforts, the Russian military has formed "mobile fire units" tasked with intercepting medium-range Ukrainian drones before they strike moving targets such as trucks, tankers and military vehicles.
????? ???????: A Russian military training exercise reportedly went awry after troops mounted a YakB-12.7 helicopter machine gun on a fixed stand, with the weapon appearing to spin out of control during the drill.#Russia#RussianArmy#MilitaryTraining#YakB127 pic.twitter.com/rwwpVsx9K0
— Daily Kishtwar Times (@kishtwartimes1) July 12, 2026
A video released from a training exercise involving one of these units reveals a somewhat questionable decision-making process and a great deal of luck on the part of the crew.
According to the video, which was shared by several prominent military bloggers, the Russian troops mounted a Yak-B 12.7 heavy machine gun, a weapon normally installed on Mi-24 attack helicopters, on a military truck. The soldier operating the rotary gun appears to have failed to account for the weapon's torque. When he opened fire, he was violently thrown from the gun as it sprayed lethal fire in every direction.
The second soldier in the truck was extremely fortunate, ducking just before the gunfire struck him. After several attempts, he managed to regain control of the heavy machine gun as it spun wildly.
