This shaggy dog story gets shaggier every time they tell it.
More likely it was the pilot got a report of drones in the area, and Putin, upon hearing it, shat his pants and demanded the helicopter GTFO of the area, lest he suffer the same fate as his good friend Prigozhin.
Brave man, that Putin. Wrestles tigers, dontchaknow.
If Putin gets the urge, he can vaporize Europe , Canada, Australia, and US, with a phone call.
Even the Russians aren’t buying this fable.