diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/vk.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/vk.py
index 765e9e6fd..01960b827 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/vk.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/vk.py
@@ -281,9 +281,13 @@ class VKIE(InfoExtractor):
             mobj.group(1) + ' ' + mobj.group(2)
             upload_date = unified_strdate(mobj.group(1) + ' ' + mobj.group(2))
 
-        view_count = str_to_int(self._search_regex(
-            r'"mv_views_count_number"[^>]*>([\d,.]+) views<',
-            info_page, 'view count', fatal=False))
+        view_count = None
+        views = self._html_search_regex(
+            r'"mv_views_count_number"[^>]*>(.+?\bviews?)<',
+            info_page, 'view count', fatal=False)
+        if views:
+            view_count = str_to_int(self._search_regex(
+                r'([\d,.]+)', views, 'view count', fatal=False))
 
         formats = [{
             'format_id': k,