- Category
- Latest news
Ukraine Takes Out Russia’s Rarest Helicopter: Mi-26 Destroyed With No Replacement Line
- Authors
![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has released footage showing the destruction of a Russian Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter—a loss made more significant by the fact that Moscow is no longer able to manufacture new models of the aircraft due to engine supply shortages, Ukrainian defense outlet Defense Express reported on December 8.
The short clip, included in a recent SBU recruiting video and spotted by military analyst “Powerful Informer,” appears to confirm the first verified destruction of a Mi-26 during the war. The moment of the strike is shown only briefly, with no accompanying operational details.
Every article pushes back against disinformation. Your support keeps our team in the field.
Defense Express noted that the footage is believed to relate to the June 27–28 strike on the Kirovske airfield in occupied Crimea, where Ukraine previously claimed hits on Mi-8, Mi-26, and Mi-28 helicopters, along with a Pantsir-S1 air defense system.
Satellite imagery had already indicated aircraft losses at the base; the newly surfaced video offers direct visual confirmation that a Mi-26 was successfully targeted.
SBU’s “Alpha” unit has published a recruiting video showing archived footage of a Russian Mi‑26 being struck (likely the June 27 hit on Kirovske airfield in occupied Crimea) and a launch site for S‑300/400 air‑defense systems being destroyed. pic.twitter.com/hQsIfHPQsO
— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) December 8, 2025
The Mi-26 is Russia’s largest and most capable transport helicopter, used for moving cargo, equipment, and personnel. It can lift up to 20 tons internally or via external sling and has been widely employed for logistics and evacuation.
But the platform’s value has grown even more due to halted production: since 2019–2020, Russia has not produced new Mi-26s. The project remains stuck in a forced “modernization” cycle caused by Moscow’s reliance on Ukrainian-built D-136 engines—procurement of which became impossible after the invasion.
Work on replacement is ongoing but has produced “no significant results,” Defense Express noted.
While it is not the first Mi-26 lost in combat history—the earliest recorded destruction occurred during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1992—this confirmed loss marks the first during the current Russian war against Ukraine and removes a valuable strategic asset from Moscow’s fleet at a time when replacements are unlikely to reach production, Defense Express stated.
Earlier, reports emerged that Russia announced the introduction of a new electronic warfare system named “Multik,” developed to counter FPV drones and intended for integration with helicopters and other military platforms.
-29ed98e0f248ee005bb84bfbf7f30adf.jpg)
-4551737f5275654c8fbca6d59733f77e.png "Ukrainian Film “2000 Meters to Andriivka” Selected as Top 5 Documentary of 2025 by US Critics")
