Watch: Russian live-fire exercise goes wrong as soldier loses control of machine gun

A video showing a Russian anti-aircraft gunner losing control of a powerful YakB-12.7 heavy machine gun during what appears to be a training exercise has gone viral.The footage shows the weapon suddenly spinning out of control after being fired, forcing nearby troops to dive for cover as rounds appeared to spray unpredictably across the range. There have been no reports of casualties, and the location and date of the incident have not been independently verified.The YakB-12.7 is a four-barrel, 12.7mm rotary machine gun originally developed for the Mil Mi-24 ‘Hind’ attack helicopter. It serves as the primary weapon of the helicopter’s USPU-24 gun turret and is designed for aerial use rather than ground-based firing.Several posts suggested the machine gun, which generates around 1,400 kilogram-force (kgf) of recoil, had been fitted to a rotating turret with its barrel offset from the turret’s axis of rotation. Critics argued that such a configuration could have contributed to the loss of control seen in the footage, although these claims have not been officially confirmed.The video emerged as fighting between Russia and Ukraine continued to intensify. On Sunday, a Ukrainian strike in Russia’s Samara region killed one person and injured three others, including a child, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev. Russian media reported that the Syzran Oil Refinery, owned by Rosneft, was the likely target, with images circulating online showing thick black smoke rising above the facility.In a separate attack, authorities in Russia’s Rostov region said a drone damaged an empty tanker in the Azov-Black Sea maritime canal, adding there was no risk of an oil spill.Russia’s ministry of defence also claimed it had carried out strikes on the Ukrainian ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk, although Ukrainian officials had not commented on the claims at the time of writing.