Ukrainian drones reportedly destroyed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter and damaged an Mi-35 at a military airfield in Russia’s Rostov region, according to an analysis of satellite imagery.
“One Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed, and one Mi-35 was damaged,” Ukrainian military news outlet Militarnyi reported of the Sept. 7-8 overnight attack, citing analysts from the Absolutely Reliable open-source intelligence channel examining post-strike satellite images.
The Mi-8 is a Soviet-designed multipurpose helicopter used by the Russian military to transport troops and cargo and conduct evacuation missions. The Mi-35 is a combat and transport helicopter derived from the Soviet-designed Mi-24.
The available imagery reportedly showed damage at the locations where the two aircraft had been positioned.
Neither Ukraine’s General Staff nor Russian authorities had publicly confirmed the damage at the time of publication.
The Taganrog-Tsentralny airfield is in Russia’s Rostov region, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Ukraine’s border.
The facility is actively used by the Russian military and is also home to the 325th Aircraft Repair Plant, which repairs military transport aircraft and components for Il-76 planes. Russia’s 708th Military Transport Aviation Regiment is also based at the airfield.