Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) has claimed the destruction of a Russian Ka-32 multi-role helicopter at the Ostafyevo airfield outside the city of Moscow.
The agency posted a video to its official Telegram channel on Friday of what appeared to be an arson attack on a helicopter.
"The destroyed unit of aviation equipment was used by the aggressor state in the interests of the Moscow aviation center, in particular—to support the operations of the Russian army of occupation," the post read.
The video showed a fire set inside the cabin of the helicopter, though the extent of the subsequent damage is unclear. The HUR said the aircraft "was burned."
The statement also noted that the airport is operated jointly with Gazpromavia, which is part of Gazprom, Russia's state-owned gas giant. Both are under U.S. sanctions in relation to Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian media outlet NV—citing sources in the HUR—reported that the destroyed aircraft belonged to the Russian Defense Ministry and was used to provide air support to the Russian military, including logistical and evacuation operations.
If confirmed, the attack would be the latest in a series of drone and sabotage attacks by Ukrainian intelligence deep inside Russia, including those targeting Moscow.
Kyiv has ramped up strikes on Russian energy facilities in particular in recent months, hampering Moscow's war machine and raising fears about the impact on global energy prices. Ukrainian officials do not always confirm responsibility for attacks inside Russia, though have repeatedly defended their freedom to launch such operations regardless of international—including U.S.—opposition.
"Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia—to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in summer 2023 after a drone attack on Moscow.
Such attacks have become increasingly common over the past year. On April 16, for example, the HUR claimed responsibility for a drone strike on a factory in eastern Russia that produces bomber aircraft.
On April 5, an overnight attack targeted Russia's Morozovsk airfield, located around 60 miles from the border with Ukraine and reported to house tactical bombers including Sukhoi Su-24s and Su-34s, which Moscow has routinely used to target front-line positions in Ukraine.
Airfields have been priority targets for Kyiv. Earlier this year, Ukraine's air force said it had launched missile strikes on the Belbek airfield close to the port city of Sevastopol on Crimea's western edge. And in August 2022, a string of explosions at the Saky air base in western Crimea damaged numerous Russian warplanes.
Kyiv claims to have destroyed multiple Su-34 fighter-bombers, Su-35 fighters and at least one A-50 airborne early warning and control plane so far this year. In total, Kyiv claims to have shot down 347 Russian aircraft since the start of the war in February 2022.
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