FSB Mi-8 Helicopter Crashes in Central Russia, Killing Three

An Mi-8 helicopter belonging to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has crashed in a village in central Russia, killing three people.

The aircraft crashed near the village of Prudny in Russia's Chelyabinsk region, local authorities said on Tuesday, confirming earlier reports from Russian television network REN TV and Russian Telegram channel Baza, which is linked to Russia's security services.

A spokesman for the emergency services told state-run news agency RIA Novosti that the helicopter crashed "during a planned flight," killing three crew members.

Alexey Teksler, governor of the Chelyabinsk region, also said three people had died in the incident, although initial reports from Russian Telegram channels said four people who were on board the helicopter had been killed.

"Residents, residential buildings were not affected. Special services are working at the scene," he said on Telegram.

Baza published a video, allegedly taken by an eyewitness who claimed to have seen the helicopter crash. "There were 4 people on board. According to preliminary data, all died," the channel reported.

Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video, and has contacted Russia's defense ministry for comment via email.

The news comes days after Ukraine said it had lured a Russian pilot commanding an assault transport Mi-8 AMTSh helicopter to land in Ukrainian territory and that the aircraft had been confiscated.

The Mi-8 AMTSh is an armored assault version of the Mi-8AMT helicopter, and is primarily used to carry troops and cargo. It carries a number of ground-attack weapons, and can operate at night and in all weather conditions.

Major General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence directorate (GUR) told the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the helicopter is now in Kyiv, calling the operation the first of its kind to succeed in Ukraine's history.

And at the end of July, another Mi-8 helicopter reportedly crashed in Altai, a Russian Republic in southern Siberia. Authorities said electrical wires prevented the Mi-8 from landing and Russia's ministry of emergency situations said four people were killed and 10 were injured.

Publicly available figures indicate that Russia has lost a number of helicopters since President Vladimir Putin invaded neighboring Ukraine more than 18 months ago.

The Dutch open-source outlet Oryx said that since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022, Russia has lost at least 103 helicopters, of which 89 were destroyed, 12 were damaged, and two were captured.

Meanwhile, figures published by Ukraine's General Staff on Tuesday showed the total number of Russian helicopters destroyed since the war began stands at 316. Independent sources give numbers that are more conservative than Kyiv's, and Russia doesn't publish figures on its military losses.

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