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Russia Launched Operation to Lift Mi-24 From Black Sea After 16 Months Underwater. Here’s What They Found
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russian forces have raised a Mi-24VP attack helicopter from the seabed near Sevastopol, more than a year after it was lost during operations against Ukrainian naval drones, according to Russian military aviation blogs.
The helicopter, identified as tail number RF-34200 and tactical code “39 Red,” went missing on April 10, 2024, while patrolling the Black Sea.
According to Russian accounts, the aircraft had been deployed from the 396th Mixed Regiment of the Baltic Fleet to support operations in occupied Crimea amid an increase in Ukrainian drone activity.
Russian channels linked to the military reported that the crew of four took off at 3:00 a.m. for a combat mission. At 3:40 a.m., the helicopter disappeared from radar while returning to base. The following day, divers located the wreckage at a depth of 15 meters along with the remains of all four servicemen on board.
The crew members were identified as:
Senior Lieutenant Aziz Irshatovich Shayakhmetov, commander, 28 years old
Lieutenant Nikita Viktorovich Tokarchuk, weapons operator, 24 years old
Senior Lieutenant Ivan Vladimirovich Stepanin, flight engineer, 38 years old
Junior Sergeant Oleksandr Andriyovych Solovey, door gunner, 30 years old
Images published by pro-Russian sources show parts of the fuselage, external fuel tanks, and pilot helmets retrieved from the seabed. The loss occurred during intensified Ukrainian use of maritime drones in the Black Sea.
Earlier, in April 2024, Ukraine employed a naval drone armed with an R-73 air-to-air missile to down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter near Cape Tarkhankut. That incident marked the first known use of a drone-mounted missile against a helicopter.
