Three Russian Helicopters Destroyed in Ukrainian Sabotage Operations

Three helicopters located at bases deep inside Russia were damaged in under a week by sabotage operations orchestrated by Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency, Kyiv has said.

An Mi-8 multipurpose helicopter "burned down" at the Kryazh military airfield close to the southwestern city of Samara on Wednesday, the GUR said in a statement published on Saturday.

An Mi-28 and a Ka-226 multipurpose helicopter were also "hit by fire" southeast of the Russian capital, Moscow, on July 21, the agency added.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted assets inside internationally recognized Russian territory, although it is not permitted to use long-range Western-provided weapons to do so. Kyiv has wielded its homegrown drones to zero in on Russian aircraft, military bases, and oil refineries.

The extent of the damage to the helicopters is not clear and Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

"Destroyed and damaged Russian helicopters were used by the aggressor in the war against Ukraine," the GUR said, adding that local residents around the sites had heard explosions.

On Saturday, an anonymous source described as part of the GUR told Ukrainian media that Kyiv had attacked three Russian military airfields and an oil refinery overnight, damaging a Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber aircraft.

The Tu-22M3 was at Olenya airbase in the northwestern Russian region of Murmansk that borders Norway, Ukrainian media reported. The base is also approximately 125 miles from the Finnish border, according to Ukrainian outlets. Both countries are NATO members.

The GUR also used drones to attack Engels military airfield in Russia's Saratov region, and the Dyagilevo airfield in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, Ukrainian media reported.

Both facilities have been previously targeted by Ukrainian-operated, long-range drones.

"Each destroyed Russian airbase, each destroyed Russian military aircraft—whether on the ground or in the air—means saving Ukrainian lives," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday in comments published by Kyiv's foreign intelligence service.

In mid-April 2024, the GUR said a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter was "destroyed" at the Kryazh airfield in Samara, although the agency stopped short of overtly claiming responsibility for taking out the helicopter.

"The aggressor used this helicopter in the war against Ukraine to transport weapons and personnel," the GUR said at the time, adding each Mi-8 helicopter can cost up to $15 million.

Days later, the agency said a Ka-32 helicopter was "burned" at a Moscow airfield.

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