Three Russian helicopters were damaged over the past week as a result of sabotage operations coordinated by Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent on July 27.
The operation damaged a Mi-28 and a Ka-226 helicopters on the territory of the Moscow-based National Center of Helicopter Construction of Mil and Kamov in the early hours of July 21. Explosions erupted at the enterprise, which develops, produces, and repairs helicopters.
While the attack caught the attention of the Moscow public, the Russian authorities hid the details, according to the source.
Another operation destroyed a Mi-8 helicopter on July 24 at the Samara Kryazh military airfield in the Samara region, roughly 800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The source did not provide further details about the attack.
Another Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed at the Samara base earlier on April 17, although HUR did not confirm Ukraine was behind the attack. The Mi-8 is used to transport both the Russian military and civilian government departments.
While Ukraine does not have permission to fire Western-made long-range weapons at Russian territory, sabotage operations are commonplace. Both Ukrainian intelligence and partisan groups target Russian infrastructure and military facilities.
On July 5, Ukrainian partisan group ATESH (meaning Fire in Crimean Tatar), claimed to have sabotaged a railway line near Yekaterinburg to stop trains from transporting North Korean ammunition.
In June, ATESH infiltrated a Russian airfield in Voronezh, around 220 kilometers northeast of the border with Kharkiv Oblast. The group hinted at a sabotage operation, saying they left “surprises” for the Russians.
Ukraine is also targeting Russian airfields with drones. On July 27, a source in HUR said the agency had damaged one aircraft after an attack on three air bases deep inside Russia.
Russia has lost 326 helicopters since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to the latest report from the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
Olena Goncharova
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