Watch: Machine gun recoil sends Russian soldier flying, troops dodge stray bullets

2 min readNew DelhiJul 13, 2026 11:57 AM IST

Another soldier standing inside the truck narrowly avoids being hit (Photo: @Breaking911/X)

A video showing a Russian anti-drone training exercise has grabbed attention on social media after a soldier was thrown from a mounted heavy machine gun when the weapon got out of control.

The video reportedly features one of Russia’s newly formed ‘mobile fire units’. These are the teams created to intercept Ukrainian drones targeting military logistics and supply routes in Russian-occupied territory and the Crimean Peninsula, Israel Hayom reported.

Soldier flung into air

In the viral video, Russian troops appear to have mounted a Yak-B 12.7 mm rotary machine gun, a weapon typically fitted on Mi-24 attack helicopters, onto the back of a military truck for use in the anti-drone role. As the video continues, the soldier is violently flung from his position as the machine gun spins uncontrollably, firing in multiple directions.

Another soldier standing inside the truck narrowly avoids being hit. He then struggles to regain control of the weapon, eventually managing to stop it after several tense moments. Sharing the video, Breaking 911 wrote on X, “INSANE FOOTAGE: Russian troops mounted a YakB-12.7 helicopter machine gun on a fixed stand for training, but the exercise quickly went wrong.”

The authenticity of the video has not been independently verified, and Russian authorities have not publicly commented on the incident. The exact location and date of the training exercise also remain unclear.

Watch here:

INSANE FOOTAGE: Russian troops mounted a YakB-12.7 helicopter machine gun on a fixed stand for training, but the exercise quickly went wrong. pic.twitter.com/MDbuG1C1eJ

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 12, 2026

The video amassed over 11 million views, prompting a deluge of reactions. “Bro went from professional training to I am become recoil destroyer of setups in 0.2 seconds,” a user wrote. “Those machines are. Very hard to control, there is a technique. Not just strength, that is way they were training, you saw how the instructors reacted,” another user noted.

“God really saved that gentleman the story would have be unpalatable,” a third user reacted.