Dramatic moment ‘British Starstreak’ missile blasts Russian KA-52 helicopter out the sky killing ‘top commander’

THIS is the dramatic moment a British-made Starstreak missile annihilated a Russian helicopter.

One of Vladimir Putin's top commanders onboard the Ka-52 was killed when the aircraft plummeted in Ukraine, defence sources claimed.

Gripping footage showed the downing of the Russian war chopper after it was directly struck by the surface-to-air missile.

The Ka-52 Alligator was seen engulfed in flames and descending rapidly through a thick plume of smoke after it was blasted.

The helicopter then smashed into the ground and exploded as flames appeared to rage into the sky.

According to Moscow defence sources, the rockets were reportedly fired from a Stormer light tank donated last year after Putin’s invasion.

A picture released by Ukraine’s Marines confirmed the strike and showed the wreckage on the ground in frontline eastern Donbas.

The deadly Ka-52 Alligator was hit near Donetsk by Ukraine’s 38th Marines, Kyiv said.

A senior Russian commander was lost in the strike along with another officer, it was reported.

His name and rank has not yet been disclosed.

Russian pro-war blogger Kirill Fyodorov claimed the commander was in the cockpit at the time of the strike.

He wrote: "As a result of the strike by three British SAM Stormer missiles, a Ka-52 was shot down.

"We have lost heroes."

The Starstreak high velocity missiles can hit objects the size of a tennis ball at three times the speed of sound.

It splits into three warhead darts in mid-air to increase the chance of collision.

It comes as Western officials said Russian troops were thinly stretched by Ukraine’s counter offensive.

Russian choppers and land mines have been key to slowing Urkaine's advances.