Ukraine’s military intelligence organization announced Monday that it used drones to carry out strikes on two Russian amphibious aircraft and a helicopter in occupied Crimea.
The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, also known by the acronym HUR, said the attack targeted two Russian Be-12 Chayka anti-submarine aircraft and an Mi-8 helicopter. The agency’s Prymary (phantoms) unit conducted the strike Sunday.
“This is the first-ever strike on a Be-12 in history,” HUR said in a Telegram post translated by The Kyiv Independent.
The HUR released an edited video of the drone strikes, which the BBC reported appeared to take place at an airfield near Sevastopol. The British news agency, though, said it couldn’t confirm whether it was the first attack on a Be-12.
The Be-12 is a Soviet-designed amphibious aircraft used primarily to detect and engage with submarines, Ukrinform reported. The aircraft are able to take off and land on water.
In addition to the Mi-8 helicopter destroyed Sunday, the HUR said it struck three other helicopters and a radar station in Crimea on Sunday.
Russian annexed Crimea during the 2014 conflict between the two countries, a move many members of the international community considered illegal.
Donald Trump meets with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky
President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky inside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on February 28, 2025. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo
