Ukrainian Drone Reportedly Ambushes $15 Million Russian Helicopter Near Occupied Donetsk

The Mi-8 military helicopter of the Russian forces, which was downed near Russian-occupied Donetsk, was reportedly shot down by a Ukrainian drone on Wednesday, July 31, according to Russian military bloggers and Western media.

The Voevoda veshchaet Russian military Telegram channel wrote that a Ukrainian drone attacked the helicopter when it attempted to take off on its mission.

In this recent successful ambush, the Ukrainian drone pilot demonstrated significant skill or luck—or possibly both, the Forbes media outlet wrote. Ukrainian troops identified the 12-ton, three-crew Russian helicopter, which is used for attack, transport, command and control, and medical evacuation missions, while it was still near the ground.

The Russians indicated that the attack was carried out at a considerable distance from the front line. This suggests that Ukraine has drones capable of destroying Russian aircraft even in the Donetsk region, which is about 50 km from the front line, as some Ukrainian media hinted.

Photos and videos circulating on social media show a Mi-8 transport helicopter burning near Donetsk in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. “A speedy recovery to the survivors,” wrote one Russian blogger.

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FighterBomber and several other Z-channels confirmed the crash of the helicopter and the death of the crew. It is likely that any passengers on board also died.

Russian military bloggers reported that the helicopter was transporting wounded Russian soldiers. Initially, reports were circulating on social media that the helicopter was shot down by Russian air defense in a fratricide incident.

Ukrainian military journalist Yury Butusov wrote via his Telegram that, for the first time in the world, a Ukrainian drone interceptor destroyed a manned aircraft in the air over Donetsk—a Russian Mi-8 transport combat helicopter.

“The entire crew and passengers were eliminated. The cost of the Mi-8 itself is at least $15 million. If it is confirmed that a drone was used, it is a historic achievement worthy of Ukraine’s highest awards,” the journalist reported.

Kyiv Post contacted Ukrainian intelligence for a comment, but there was no confirmation or denial.

Forbes wrote that one of the small quadcopter drones—remotely steered by an operator wearing a virtual-reality headset—shot down a Russian helicopter, apparently for the first time.

Forbes reported that the recent use of explosive drones by Ukrainian forces has been in the works for a considerable time.

As early as September, Ukrainian UAV operators experimented with ramming their drones into Russian helicopters mid-flight. The threat from these drones became so significant that the Russian Air Force started assigning some helicopters to escort others.

It took at least 10 months of attempts before a Ukrainian drone operator successfully hit a Russian helicopter.

The numerous misses are understandable, given that helicopters can fly faster than 150 miles per hour at altitudes of several thousand feet—too fast and too high for a small, two-pound drone to make a precise hit without a great deal of skill or luck on the operator’s part, as outlined by Forbes.

As reported by Forbes, what might be most impressive is how far the Russian helicopter may have been from the front line. The western edge of Donetsk is just three miles from the front line—well within the range of an unaided FPV drone.

But the eastern edge of the city is closer to 10 miles from the front line, which is where the shoot-down apparently took place. “The distance,” one of the Russian bloggers reported, “is very significant.”

An FPV drone typically carries only a few pounds of explosives, but even a small payload can be effective. It doesn't require much firepower to down a helicopter if the rotor is hit.

To travel 10 miles, an FPV drone might need help from a second drone, trailing a few miles behind, that captures and rebroadcasts its short-range command signal. It’s a complex operation requiring careful coordination.

The Russian military has hundreds of helicopters and, so far, has lost around a hundred to Ukrainian action. One more loss isn’t catastrophic for the Russians. But now that the Ukrainians have downed their first helicopter with a drone, they may intensify their efforts to target Russian rotorcraft.