Russian military pilot reportedly defects to Ukraine with helicopter

A Russian military helicopter has landed in Ukraine, reportedly after the pilot was convinced to defect in a six-month intelligence operation.

A Russian military blogger said a helicopter had crossed the border with three people on board “a couple of weeks ago”, but claimed the aircraft had lost its way.

The twin-engine Mi-8 AMTSh was on a flight between two airbases, transporting parts for Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets, Ukrainska Pravda newspaper reported, citing defence intelligence sources.

The pilot’s family had already been moved to Ukraine as part of the defection operation and he would join them, it said. Both crew members were killed, the Russian blogger and Ukrainian reports said.

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence appeared to confirm that the aircraft had landed in Ukraine, but in line with government reticence about intelligence operations, did not give any details.

“There will be official information. We need to wait a little bit – we are working on it, including with the crew,” said Andriy Yusov told state television.

The news about a possible pilot defection came days after a drone attack destroyed a supersonic Russian bomber on an airfield hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine.

Russia’s airforce has been among the most destructive parts of its war machine, even though it has not been able to take control of the skies over Ukraine.

Russian jets and helicopters launch missiles and unguided bombs at civilian targets, and the support they provide to frontline troops has made it harder for Ukrainian forces mounting a counteroffensive to push through Russian defences.

Since the start of the war, Ukraine has pressed western allies to provide better air defences and aircraft to protect the country. That campaign culminated in a pledge of dozens of F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands earlier this week.

The planes will be handed over in tranches after pilot training has been satisfactorily completed, but because the new crews have to improve their English before learning to fly and maintain the jets, that will not happen until well into next year.

Ukraine’s small air force is currently made up of Soviet-standard planes that can run only a dozen or so low-risk combat missions a day because they are outnumbered by their Russian equivalents.

Although Moscow uses its own jets relatively conservatively in frontline areas, the size of its air force means it poses a far greater threat.

In the context of Russia’s large fleet, the defection of a highly trained pilot – after a successful Ukrainian intelligence mission – would be a more significant military blow than the loss of a single helicopter through crew error.

The cross-border flight was presented as an accident by Russian blogger Fighterbomber, who runs a Telegram channel with close links to Russia’s air force.

“The crew, for some reason, lost their bearings and crossed the border,” he said, confirming that the image circulating in Ukrainian media was that of the missing Mi-8.

“Realising where they landed, they made an attempt to take off, but were shot while the helicopter was on the ground. Presumably, two board members died and the commander was taken hostage.”

In a follow-up post, he dismissed claims the pilot’s family was in Ukraine, claiming to be in contact with relatives of all crew members.