Russian School Kids Torch $15M Helicopter with Cigarettes

Two Russian teenagers burned and destroyed an Mi-8 military helicopter at an airport using flammable liquid and cigarettes, according to reports.

The Mi-8 helicopter—estimated by Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency to cost up to $15 million—was set ablaze at the Noyabrsk airport in Russia's Arctic Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district on Tuesday night, according to the Baza Telegram channel, which is linked to Russia's security services.

The incident adds to a string of accidents and cases of sabotage, as since the start of the conflict in Ukraine Russia's air force has been plagued by aircraft losses unrelated to combat missions over the war-torn country.

The teenage boys, aged 13 and 14, made their way to the helipad where the helicopter was stationed, and doused it in flammable liquid.

"The schoolchildren set the helicopter on fire with cigarettes. After they poured the liquid on the helicopter, the boys decided to smoke and then threw a cigarette into the helicopter. There was no fire. Then one of the boys lit a second cigarette and then stuck it into the liquid. At that moment, an explosion occurred," the Telegram channel said.

The two teenagers were detained less than an hour later. They sustained serious burn injuries to their faces, and were hospitalized.

"The helicopter burned almost completely - only the tail remained," Baza said. The channel later published photos that purportedly show the charred remains of the aircraft.

The teenage boys were reportedly promised 5 million rubles (about $55,000) by an unknown individual on the Telegram messaging app for carrying out the task.

Newsweek couldn't independently verify the report and contacted Russia's defense ministry for comment by email.

Russia's state run news agency Tass describes the Mi-8, designed in the 1960s, as a "well-known Soviet and Russian model of helicopter, and one of the most mass-produced helicopters in the world." The twin-engined aircraft, designed to transport troops, has been sold to more than 100 countries.

Publicly available figures indicate that Russia has lost a number of helicopters since President Vladimir Putin invaded neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.

The Dutch open-source outlet Oryx said it has visually confirmed that since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started, Russia has lost at least 144 helicopters, of which 112 were destroyed, 30 were damaged, and two were captured.

Meanwhile, figures published by Ukraine's General Staff on Wednesday showed the total number of Russian helicopters destroyed since the war began stands at 328.

Independent sources give numbers that are more conservative than Kyiv's, and Russia doesn't publish figures on its military losses.

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