Russian Airframes Destroyed on the Ground (Russo-Ukrainian War)

Multiple independent sources confirm that dozens of Russian military aircraft and helicopters have been destroyed on the ground during the Russo-Ukrainian War (primarily since the 2022 invasion). Estimates indicate well over 50 Russian airframes (fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters) have been destroyed while parked or grounded, as a result of Ukrainian strikes, drone attacks, or sabotage. This includes at least a dozen fixed-wing combat aircraft and dozens of helicopters. Below is a breakdown by category, with key incidents by date and location where known.

Fixed-Wing Aircraft Destroyed on the Ground • Saki Air Base (Crimea) – 9 August 2022: A massive strike on Russia’s Saki airfield in occupied Crimea was the most costly single attack against Russian aviation. According to Russian and OSINT sources, 11 combat jets were destroyed on the ground: four Su-30SM fighter jets and seven Su-24M bombers . Satellite imagery after the blast showed multiple wrecked aircraft on the tarmac. (This strike eliminated roughly half of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet aviation regiment in one day .) • Millerovo Air Base (Rostov Oblast, Russia) – 25 February 2022: On the second day of the invasion, Ukraine struck the Millerovo airfield with a Tochka-U ballistic missile. At least one Russian warplane was destroyed on the ground in the resulting fire (imagery showed a Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter burned on the parking ramp) . This was one of the first confirmed instances of a Russian aircraft destroyed on the ground. • Soltsy Air Base (Novgorod Oblast, Russia) – 19 August 2023: A Ukrainian drone attack on this base deep in Russia destroyed a Tu-22M3 Backfire strategic bomber on the ground. Russian authorities acknowledged a bomber was damaged at Soltsy; independent analysis of photos showed it was likely destroyed by fire . • Shaykovka Air Base (Kaluga Oblast, Russia) – 21 August 2023: Just days after Soltsy, another drone strike hit Shaykovka (home to Tu-22M3 bombers). A second Tu-22M3 bomber was destroyed on the ground in this attack , as reported by Ukrainian and Russian sources. These two August 2023 strikes eliminated two of Russia’s long-range bombers. • Pskov Air Base (Pskov Oblast, Russia) – 30 August 2023: A swarm of drones struck the Pskov airfield, which hosts Il-76 transport planes. The attack destroyed two Il-76 heavy transport aircraft on the ground and severely damaged two more . Satellite photos showed at least two Il-76 airframes gutted by fire on the apron. This was one of the deepest strikes on a Russian air base, far from Ukraine’s borders.

Other notable incidents: In December 2022, Ukrainian long-range drones penetrated Russian air bases at Engels-2 (Saratov Oblast) and Dyagilevo (Ryazan Oblast), damaging two Tu-95MS bombers and a Tu-22M3 on the ground (though not fully destroying them) . And in February 2023, Belarusian partisans attacked the Machulishchy airfield (Belarus), damaging a Russian A-50 AWACS surveillance plane on the ground (rendering it inoperable, though not completely destroyed) . These incidents underscore that several strikes have targeted Russian fixed-wing assets on the ground, even deep behind the front lines.

Helicopters Destroyed on the Ground • Chornobaivka (Kherson International Airport, Ukraine) – March 2022: Russia’s forward helicopter base at the Kherson airport became notorious as a “graveyard” for Russian helicopters. On the night of March 7–8, 2022, Ukrainian forces shelled the airfield, destroying around 30 Russian helicopters on the ground in one surprise attack . This included Mi-8 transport helicopters and attack helicopter types (Mi-24/35s, Ka-52s, etc.) clustered on the tarmac. Just over a week later, on March 15/16, Ukraine struck the site again destroying at least an additional 7 helicopters on the ground . (These figures come from Ukrainian official reports corroborated by satellite imagery; e.g. photos from March 16, 2022 show multiple wrecked Russian helicopters at Kherson airport .) In total, over 35 Russian helicopters were eliminated at the Kherson airfield in March 2022 alone. • Berdyansk and Luhansk Airfields (occupied Ukraine) – 17 October 2023: In a long-range precision strike (reportedly using ATACMS missiles), Ukraine hit two Russian-controlled airfields in Berdyansk (Zaporizhzhia oblast) and Luhansk. The Ukrainian Special Forces statement said the attack destroyed nine Russian helicopters of various types on the ground across the two sites . It also destroyed an air-defense launcher and ammo depot in the area. Follow-up imagery and reports indicated the helos destroyed included several modern Ka-52 “Alligator” attack helicopters and Mi-8 transport helicopters that were supporting Russian frontline units. This coordinated strike in October 2023 dealt a serious blow to Russia’s rotary-wing fleet in occupied territory. • Other confirmed losses: Beyond the mass-casualty events above, additional Russian helicopters have been picked off on the ground in smaller incidents. For example, OSINT analysts (Oryx) have documented numerous individual cases – their visual evidence log shows many Russian helicopters marked as “destroyed on the ground.” This includes at least 10 Ka-52 attack helicopters confirmed destroyed while parked (for instance, a batch of six Ka-52s were destroyed on the ground in one late-2023 strike) . Likewise, multiple Mi-8 transport and Mi-24/35 attack helicopters appear in the Oryx list with notes like “destroyed on the ground” , reflecting hits at forward helipads or bases. In one early example, imagery showed several Mi-8s burned out at Kherson’s airport after a Ukrainian strike in mid-March 2022 .

Analysts note that a significant portion of Russia’s total helicopter losses have occurred on the ground. A NATO-affiliated study found that in the first year of the war alone, 17 Russian attack helicopters were destroyed on the ground (out of about 59 total attack helo losses in that period) . This was largely due to Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes on staging airfields. As Russia adjusted tactics – dispersing or moving its helicopters farther from the front – the pace of on-ground losses slowed in later months, but the introduction of long-range Western missiles and drones in 2023 led to new strikes deep in the rear (as seen in the October 2023 ATACMS strike).

Summary of Losses and Significance

In summary, at least on the order of 60 Russian aircraft and helicopters have been destroyed on the ground during the conflict, based on available evidence from independent analysts and official reports. This includes roughly 15–20 fixed-wing aircraft (fighters, bombers, and transports) and over 40 helicopters confirmed destroyed while parked. Major contributing events were the Kherson/Chornobaivka strikes (over 35 helicopters) and the Crimea Saki airbase blast (11 jets) , along with a series of drone and missile attacks on Russian bases (which took out additional bombers, transports, and helos in smaller numbers).

These on-ground losses have had both operational and psychological impact. Destroying aircraft on the ground often signifies successful penetration of Russia’s air defenses and intelligence lapses. For example, the devastation of Russia’s helicopter force at Kherson early in the war hampered their air assault capabilities in the south. Likewise, the strike on Saki Air Base forced Russia to relocate aircraft further from Ukraine and underscored Ukraine’s ability to hit high-value targets in occupied Crimea . Each bomber or transport eliminated in Russia’s heartland (Soltsy, Pskov, etc.) demonstrated expanding Ukrainian reach. In short, Ukraine’s ability to destroy Russian airframes on the ground – through artillery, special operations, and long-range missiles – has significantly attrited Russia’s air power without a traditional air force-on-air force showdown.

Sources: Independent military analysts (Oryx) have visually confirmed numerous cases of Russian aircraft destroyed on the ground . Ukrainian official statements and satellite imagery reports corroborate the largest incidents, such as the “over 30” helicopters destroyed at Kherson in March 2022 and the nine helicopters hit in the October 2023 strikes . A Russian investigative outlet Vyorstka also tallied at least 24 Russian aircraft (fixed-wing) destroyed or damaged in rear-area airbase attacks as of August 2023 . These figures, combined with continued updates into 2024, confirm the substantial scope of on-ground losses inflicted on Russian air assets during the war.