construction crane cable with all the crew of four being killed in the crash. It is now known that virtually none of the neutron absorbers reached the core. Ukraine On 16 August 2013, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that one of its Mi-8MSB had set a world altitude record of at the Kirovske military airfield on 15 August. The Ukrainian Armed Forces used Mi-8MSB along with Mi-24s in operations against separatists in Eastern Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War. On 29 May 2014, a Ukrainian National Guard Mi-8 was brought down by Russian separatist forces in Donbas using a MANPADS near Slavyansk with 12 personnel, including an Army general, killed and one seriously injured. On 24 June 2014, a Ukrainian National Guard Mi-8 was shot down by separatist forces again using a MANPADS near Slavyansk with nine personnel killed. Ukrainian forces used Mi-8 helicopters to resupply forces during the Siege of Mariupol at Azovstal iron and steel works and bring in additional reinforcements for the Azov Regiment. Some 16 Mi-8s were used a number of times, two of which were shot down. Russia claimed on 5 April that it shot down two Ukrainian Mi-8s that it said were being used to evacuate commanders of the Azov Regiment. United States During the initial stages of Operation Enduring Freedom, Mi-17s and Mi-8s were extensively used by the CIA and US Special Forces to assist the Northern Alliance in their fight against the Taliban. A number of Mi-8s and Mi-17s are used by US government agencies as of 2022. Yugoslavia The Yugoslav Air Force took delivery of 24 Mi-8T (Hip C) transport helicopters between May 1968 and May 1969 to equip two squadrons of the newly formed 119th transport regiment from Niš military airport, each squadron with 12 helicopters. Subsequently, from 1973 to the early 1980s, Yugoslavia purchased more Mi-8T helicopters to re-equip two squadrons of 111th regiment from Pleso military airport near Zagreb and the 790th squadron from Divulje military airport near Split, which was under the command of the Yugoslav Navy. In total, the Yugoslav Air Force received 92 Mi-8Ts, designated by the Yugoslav People's Army as the HT-40, while local modification of several helicopters into electronic warfare variants produced the HT-40E. Some 40 helicopters were equipped for firefighting operations. The Yugoslav Mi-8s' first combat operations were transport of Yugoslav People's Army troops and federal police forces to border crossings