Two teenagers turned a Russian military helicopter worth £11million to ash on Tuesday night. The incident took place at the Noyabrsk airport in Yamalo-Nenets district in the centre of the country.
The torching of the military hardware will surely anger Vladimir Putin, as Kyiv launches drone attacks across his embattled country.
According to a Telegram channel linked to Russian security, two boys aged 13 and 14 found the Mi-8 helicopter and doused it in flammable liquid.
They then used cigarettes to start a fire which engulfed the craft in flames. However, they were hurt in the episode, sustaining burns which required them to call an ambulance.
According to the Kyiv Post, the boys were hospitalised under guard. The Baza telegram post claims that the two boys did not simply stumble across the craft but were promised payment in exchange for setting it alight.
The teens were said to have entered the secure airport via a hole in a fence, which they also used to leave the site.
They were allegedly offered 5 million rubles (£42,000) to torch the helicopter, after being paid 30,000 rubles (£252) to set a phone tower on fire a few days previously.
The boys reportedly suffered severe facial burns after the craft exploded. Only the tail section of the helicopter survived the fire and explosion.
One of their fathers is said to be fighting Ukrainian troops on the frontline.
The episode comes with Russia seeking to strike back against Kyiv, after President Zelensky’s troops pushed into the Kursk region, before launching drone strikes well inside Russia.