Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) have for the first time shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter using a “deep strike” drone. The SSO called the operation a landmark moment that “changes the game.”
The downing occurred over the village of Kuteynikove in Russia’s Rostov region, according to the military. Footage released indicates the helicopter was brought down by a long-range FP-1 drone.
“Every mission requires creativity - from the platform’s technical characteristics to planning and pilot training,” the SSO said.
The Special Operations Forces added that “this mission left the enemy with many questions, the answers to which are known only to the Mi-8 crew - and they won’t tell.”
It is not the first time a drone has hit Russian helicopters, but earlier cases involved FPV systems. In August 2024, over Russia’s Kursk region, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) fighters damaged a Mi-28 helicopter with an FPV drone. And in September, Robert Brovdi, known as “Madyar” and commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said pilots of the 59th Brigade of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed a Russian Mi-8 using an FPV drone.
