On Saturday, June 28, 2025, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on social media that during a special operation at the Kirovske military airfield in occupied Crimea, a single self-propelled Pantsir-S1 air defense system and three helicopters were destroyed: a Mi-8 transport helicopter, a Mi-28 attack helicopter, and the world’s largest transport helicopter, the Mi-26, marking the first such loss since the outbreak of the war with Ukraine.
Photo: Vitaly V. Kuzmin
“Another Successful Special Operation by the SBU: Enemy Pantsir-S1 Air Defense System and Three Helicopters Destroyed”
“The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has delivered yet another painful blow to the occupiers. This time, during the night of June 27–28, drones operated by the Ukrainian special service attacked the ‘Kirovske’ military airfield in temporarily occupied Crimea.”
“Fire damage was inflicted on locations housing aviation assets, air defense systems, ammunition storage facilities, as well as the enemy’s reconnaissance and strike UAVs.”
“Available data indicates the destruction of multi-purpose and attack helicopters,the Mi-8, Mi-26, and Mi-28, as well as a self-propelled Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile and artillery system.”
“Throughout the night, secondary detonations occurred at the enemy airfield.”
“The SBU continues systematic efforts to reduce Russia’s ability to carry out air and bomb strikes on Ukrainian territory. The occupiers must understand that their expensive military equipment and munitions are not safe anywhere, not on the front line, not in temporarily occupied territories, and not even deep behind enemy lines.”
The Security Service of Ukraine press release
On October 27, 2023, the Russian state news agency TASS revealed that the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) had taken delivery of new helicopters that year, including the first modernized heavy transport Mi-26T2W models (NATO reporting name: Halo), though the exact number was not specified. Prior to these deliveries, there were 33 Mi-26-series helicopters in service, including the Mi-26, Mi-26T, and Mi-26T2 variants. An additional 15 had been ordered, although according to a 2019 statement by Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko, the plan was to acquire 10. In addition, 10 more Mi-26 helicopters are operated by the National Guard (Rosgvardiya, formerly the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs). In 2020, one Mi-26T2 was ordered by the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The use of the Mi-26 during the war in Ukraine has not been widely discussed. It is believed that Russia employs a certain number of these helicopters primarily for logistical tasks such as transporting troops and equipment. However, their role has been limited by the threat posed by Ukrainian drones and air defense systems.
The last combat loss of this type of helicopter in Russian service occurred on August 19, 2002, at the Khankala base near Grozny in Chechnya, when the aircraft was shot down by a man-portable Igla-1M air defense system operated by Chechen fighters. The crash killed 118 people on board and injured 29 others – it remains the deadliest helicopter disaster in aviation history.
Previously, in 1992, Russia lost two Mi-26 helicopters flying under the CIS flag during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Additional losses occurred due to accidents: 12 during the Soviet era, 16 during the Russian Federation period, and several among export users — one each by Greece, Malaysia, Mexico, and India. Moldova lost a helicopter in combat in Afghanistan’s Helmand province on July 14, 2009, when it was shot down by the Taliban using either a rocket-propelled grenade or a man-portable air defense system.
Mi-26 helicopters are currently in service with the armed forces of 10 countries, including, in addition to those already mentioned, Belarus, Algeria, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Uzbekistan, Equatorial Guinea, and Jordan. They have been retired from service in Moldova (after the aforementioned shootdown), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, China, Laos, Mexico, Peru, and Ukraine (which retired and mothballed 16 units by 2017, with no available information about potential reactivation). In Russia, the Mi-26 is also used in the civilian sector by four companies, as well as by the emergency services ministries of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
Last night, Ukrainian Security Service attacked a Kirovskoe military airfield in Russian-occupied Crimea.
According to available data, three helicopters (Mi-8, Mi-26 and Mi-28) and a Pantsir-S1 system were destroyed.
Secondary detonation was reported at the airfield.
Glory! pic.twitter.com/49xlf0A2Lk
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 28, 2025
UPDATE:
Confirmation of the attack on the airport has appeared in the form of a satellite image: