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- Ukraine said its attack destroyed a Russian aircraft type for the first time in history.It said it destroyed two Russian Be‑12 "Chaika" aircraft in an attack in Crimea.Russia has been using the decades-old seaplanes in the hunt for Ukraine's naval drones, per Western intel.
Very few combat platforms involved in the Ukraine war have escaped losses. The Russian Be-12 "Chaika" amphibious aircraft was one of them, at least until Sunday, when Ukrainian forces said they destroyed two of the planes in a historic first.
Ukraine's intelligence directorate (HUR) said on Monday that two Russian Be‑12 aircraft, which Russia is said to use to patrol and hunt Ukrainian naval drones, were destroyed in a Sunday attack by its special "Ghosts" unit in occupied Crimea.
"This is the first defeat of a Be-12 in history," it said, per a translation of the statement.
The Be-12 amphibious aircraft, which NATO calls the Mail, was designed in the 1950s and was first flown in 1960. The decades-old turboprop plane was designed to conduct short-range anti-submarine and maritime patrol duties. It can reach speeds of nearly 330 mph and fly at a maximum altitude of around 10,000 ft.
Western intelligence described the plane as a "key Russian asset" in Russian maritime air patrol operations in a 2023 update, determining that its employment was highly likely aimed at the early identification of Ukraine's sea drones.
It said they flew out of Russian bases in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia has occupied since 2014. Ukraine has long targeted the peninsula and has recently ramped up attacks.
The Ukrainian outlet Defense Express published satellite images from 2022 showing seven or eight Be-12 aircraft at Crimea's Kacha air base, plus two more in pieces. The International Institute for Strategic Studies reported in its Military Balance 2023 report that Russia had six in a search-and-rescue role rather than anti-submarine duty. Exactly how many Be-12s Russia still has is not clear, but it's likely only a handful.
Some Be-12s, likely far from operational condition, are also on display in Russian museums.
Sea patrol has been critical for Russia in the Black Sea. Ukraine has a growing fleet of naval drones loaded with explosives that have hit Russian ships and ports, damaging and sinking a sizable portion of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Ukrainian drones have also shot Russian aircraft out of the sky with missiles.
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The sea drones allowed Ukraine to contest Russia at sea despite lacking a traditional navy with large, heavily armed warships. These strikes drove Russia to move much of its Black Sea Fleet farther from Ukraine, shifting from Sevastopol in Crimea to Novorossiysk in southwestern Russia.
The HUR said the attack also destroyed an Mi-8 helicopter, a Soviet-era helicopter that is typically used for transport but can be reconfigured for airborne command and reconnaissance and as an armed gunship.
This helicopter has been used throughout Russia's invasion. Ukraine's forces have destroyed multiple Mi-8s, including by missiles launched from naval drones.
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As Ukraine targets Crimea, it claimed another attack by the "Ghosts" unit on Saturday. It said it hit three Russian Mi-8s and a Russian Nebo-U radar.
Ukraine and Russia have been knocking down each other's aircraft throughout the war, or taking them out on the ground with drones and missiles. The airspace over and around Ukraine remains heavily contested, with neither side able to seize control of the skies.
