Russian Channels: Three Aircraft and Seven Airmen Lost During Drone Raid Near St. Petersburg

Russian military channels say Russia lost three aircraft and seven airmen on 11 November during a Ukrainian drone attack in the St. Petersburg area. St. Petersburg is a Baltic Sea port city about 840 km from the Russia-Ukraine border. If confirmed, the losses would add to a difficult run for Russian aviation, which already suffered heavy losses in October.

What Russian channels report

A memorial post on one Russian aviation channel shows a Ka-52 attack helicopter, an Mi-8 transport helicopter and a MiG-31 interceptor. Other reports name two Ka-52s and an Mi-8, with no MiG-31. Losing a MiG-31, one of Russia's scarcest interceptors, would be the costliest part of the night. The channel The Voevoda Speaks said the night had inflicted a deep wound on the aerospace forces.

The Ukrainian raid involved at least 50 one-way attack drones that hit Baltic Sea port facilities, which have become busier as Russia shifts trade away from the Black Sea. At sunrise on 11 November the oil terminal at Ust-Luga, about 100 km west of St. Petersburg, was on fire.

What may have happened

The exact circumstances are unknown. If drones had hit the aircraft on the ground, killing crews seems unlikely. A MiG-31 and a Ka-52 each carry two crew and an Mi-8 usually carries three, so either combination adds up to seven dead. That suggests the aircraft may have been airborne. Many Ukrainian observers assume Russian air defences shot down their own aircraft. That has happened before: one of the 13 aircraft Russia lost in October was a helicopter downed by Russian air defences.

October losses

In October, Russia lost 13 fighters and helicopters, mostly in accidents and Ukrainian drone and missile strikes on bases. The worst single day was 15 October, when Ukrainian Neptune cruise missiles hit Su-34 fighters on the ground in Borisoglebsk, western Russia, and four burned.