Russia Loses Another Mi-8 Helicopter as Aviation Losses Keep Climbing

Russia has reportedly lost a Mi-8 multipurpose helicopter, with circulating Russian posts indicating crew casualties, according to Militarnyi on May 6.

The Ukrainian outlet reported that the first indication of the loss appeared after a Russian aviation-linked Telegram channel published a tribute to the crew. A later post by another Russian military commentator also referred to the deaths of servicemen connected to the helicopter.

The report cited Kirill Fedorov, Russian pro-war military blogger and propagandist that posted a photo on his Telegram channel showing two Russian servicemen standing in front of a helicopter. “Goodbye, friend! Goodbye, guys! Eternal flight! Smile there, as always! We’ll sort things out here,” he wrote.

Militarnyi reported that the exact location and circumstances of the helicopter’s loss remain unknown. Official Russian authorities have not publicly detailed the incident.

The incident coincided with the ceasefire regime announced by Ukraine, which Russian forces have repeatedly violated with drone attacks.

The Mi-8 is a Soviet-designed twin-engine helicopter and one of the most widely used aircraft of its kind in the world. It is used to transport troops and cargo, as well as provide fire support during combat operations. Russian forces have also long used helicopters, including Mi-8s, to hunt Ukrainian strike drones over Russian territory and in temporarily occupied Crimea.

The reported incident also recalls earlier efforts to obscure losses involving Mi-8 helicopters as Russian forces had peviosly attempted to conceal the loss of a Mi-8MTV-5M helicopter severely damaged in January 2025. The incident reportedly occurred on January 21 in Russia’s Voronezh region, after the crew lost control roughly an hour and a half into flight.

The helicopter made an emergency landing after experiencing what was described as “spatial disorientation” at low altitude. The crew survived, but photos later showed major structural damage, including a broken tail boom and severe damage to the rear fuselage.

The aircraft was identified as a modernized Mi-8MTV-5M, a variant equipped with upgraded onboard systems and intended for military transport and support roles. The reported loss was not included in Russia’s official statistics, leaving the incident known mainly through open-source analysis and available imagery.

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