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Ukrainian Drones Take Out Ka-52 and Mi-8 Helicopters at Russian Base
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukraine’s Defense Forces have reportedly destroyed two Russian helicopters—a multipurpose Mi-8 and a Ka-52 attack helicopter—using strike drones in an operation carried out deep inside Russian territory, according to the Telegram channel Dosye Shpiona on February 22.
The strikes reportedly took place on the evening of February 20, 2026. The helicopters were allegedly based at the Pugachevka airfield, located near the village of Pugachevka in Russia’s Oryol region.
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The site is described as a small dirt airstrip belonging to a local aviation club affiliated with Russia’s DOSAAF, a paramilitary organization historically linked to military training and aviation support.
According to the report, Russian forces may have been using the airfield as a temporary operational base for a consolidated helicopter detachment tasked with intercepting Ukrainian long-range drones.
The destroyed Mi-8 multipurpose helicopter, tail number 53, reportedly belonged to the 319th Independent Helicopter Regiment, headquartered in Chernigovka in Russia’s Primorsky region.
Meanwhile, the Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter, tail number 18, was said to be assigned to the 16th Army Aviation Brigade, based in Zernograd in Russia’s Rostov region.
If confirmed, the strike would represent another example of Ukraine’s expanding use of long-range unmanned systems to target aviation assets beyond the immediate frontline, complicating Russia’s efforts to protect rear-area infrastructure and aircraft used for counter-drone missions.
Independent confirmation of the reported losses has not yet been publicly released.
Earlier, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian Ka-27 naval helicopter near the village of Kamyshly in occupied Crimea.
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