Claim: Ukrainian helicopter uses flares to light wheat field on fire

[TheNZThrower]

A video posted to reddit purports to show a Ukrainian helicopter burning a wheat field in Kherson:


The helicopter has two stripes on the rear, which appears to match markings found on Ukrainian helicopters [source]:

Regardless of the perpetrator, what is the motive for lighting the wheat field on fire?

 

[Mendel]

Regardless of the perpetrator, what is the motive for lighting the wheat field on fire?

I'd ask, what is the motive for using flares?

The assumption that the purpose is to set the field on fire (does it actually burn?) may be misguided.

If the helicopter is attacking infantry hiding in the field, the flares are probably used for defense, as their intended purpose.

 

[Mendel]

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/vq5iid/comment/ien916h/

 

[TheNZThrower]

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/vq5iid/comment/ien916h/

Thanks.

 

[deirdre]

Regardless of the perpetrator, what is the motive for lighting the wheat field on fire?

not that i agree the vid shows that, but...
google it:

Why Do Farmers Burn? - Agriculture - Province of Manitoba

https://www.gov.mb.ca › crop-residue-burning-program


Burning is one way to dispose of the straw left after harvest so fields can be made ready for seeding the following spring. However, some farmers find it ...

Why Do They Do That? – Burning Fields and Ditches

https://iowaagliteracy.wordpress.com › 2015/04/30 › w...


Apr 30, 2015 — Fire breaks down that plant matter and releases the nutrients so they are available to the soil and can help promote future plant growth. These ...

 

[Mendel]

not that i agree the vid shows that, but...
google it:
[..] Burning is one way to dispose of the straw left after harvest so fields can be made ready for seeding the following spring

The video shows stalks of ripe wheat.
Farmers (used to (now prohibited in many places)) burn stubble, but not with helicopters.

 

[deirdre]

The video shows stalks of ripe wheat.

yea i cant really tell the difference from that vid, and NZ almost never provides any additional data like dates.


obviously not a "fact" just because some guys posts something on twitter but this guy says

Video fact: Ukrainian Mi-24 purposefully, shooting interference cartridges (heat traps), sets fire to wheat fields in the Kherson direction.

Source: https://twitter.com/vallz8714/status/1545433738817028099

 

[TheNZThrower]

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/vq5iid/comment/ien916h/

BTW, got some more sources on the countermeasure technique used there?

 

[JMartJr]

Since classical times, burning a field has been used to:
Deprive the enemy of the ability to re-victual off of the field (unlikely here.)
Deprive the enemy of cover if you believe they are (or might be about to) use the growth in the field to hide troops and movements. And/or as an attack on troops hidden there-in.

Given what's been posted above, it seems reasonable that this was not an attempt to burn a field, but is another instance of assuming a motive for an action based on assuomtions rather than information.

 

[Mendel]

interference cartridges (heat traps)

as far as I can tell, that's just a description of a flare

 

[Mendel]

For comparison:

Article:

Kharkiv Oblast Administration Head Oleg Synegubov stated that Russian forces shelled fields in the Izyum area, and NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) remotely sensed data showed fires on fields northwest of Slovyansk.

Source: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-july-9

 

[Greene]

SAMs have proven to be extremely dangerous to both sides in this conflict. Both have have resorted to flying at extremely low altitudes to mitigate the threat.

Flying lower means that MANPADS are an increased danger. Most man portable system are IR guided. The constant release of flares is a protective measure against that threat.

If you start digging through the videos you will find many showing similar behavior, by helicopters and fixed wing attack aircraft (primarily SU-25).

 

[captancourgette]

Yes I've seen multiple occasions where helicopters have been shooting out flares hoping to create a decoy so the heat seeking manpad missiles don't hit them, sometimes it works and the copter escapes sometimes it doesnt.
Escapes


Doesnt Escape