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Russian Su-35 reportedly shoots down Mi-8 after mistaking it for drone

02 October 2026 14:48 (UTC +04:00)

A Russian Su-35 fighter jet reportedly shot down a Mi-8 helicopter in the Voronezh region after mistaking it for a drone, APA reports.

According to local Telegram channels, three people were killed in the incident.

The “Dosye Shpiona” channel reported that the incident occurred on October 1 during efforts to repel a large-scale drone attack.

The Su-35 crew allegedly misidentified the Mi-8 as an unmanned aerial vehicle and opened fire on it.

The helicopter crashed in the Anninsky district of the Voronezh region, about 80 kilometers from the city of Voronezh. The pilot, navigator and gunner were killed.

The “Oko Gora” Telegram channel reported that the Mi-8 had been on a runway and took off after a drone alert was issued, after which it came under fire from the Su-35. According to the channel, the helicopter was mistaken for a drone.

This is reportedly not the first case in which a Russian Mi-8 has been shot down while responding to a Ukrainian drone attack. On the night of March 4, a Russian military helicopter crashed near the village of Dudki in the Rostov region, approximately 2.5 kilometers from the Millerovo military airfield. According to ASTRA, the Mi-8 was shot down by Russian air defense forces and crashed into a local farmer’s barn, killing all three crew members.

Reports had emerged a day earlier that a Russian Mi-8 military helicopter had crashed in the Voronezh region.