Russian Su-35 fighter mistakenly shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter over Voronezh, three crew members dead

Russia mistakenly shot down one of its own Mi-8 military helicopters over the Voronezh region on 1 October 2026, killing all three crew members — the pilot, the navigator and the gunner — as The Defence Blog writes.

According to the reporting, the helicopter was hit by a Russian Su-35 fighter, while the aircraft were relocating to escape a Ukrainian drone attack. The Su-35 crew apparently mistook the helicopter for a Ukrainian drone and shot it down. Initial reporting spoke of ground-based air defence, but the information updated on 2 October shows that the author of the attack was an Su-35.

The helicopter crashed in a field in the Anninsky district, about 80 kilometres from the city of Voronezh and about 200 kilometres from the border with Ukraine, according to the Russian channel Mash on Telegram. The news was also published today in the news feed of The Kyiv Independent (2 October, 18:40 Kyiv time), which cites the Ukrainian channel “Dossier of a Spy” on Telegram.

This is the latest episode in a series of Russian losses from friendly fire. On 2 July, a Ka-52 attack helicopter was shot down in the same Voronezh region; on 3 March, Russian forces likely shot down one of their own helicopters near Millerovo in the Rostov region; and in June 2024, air defence near Anapa shot down a Russian Ka-29, killing four people. According to The Insider, by the end of 2025 Russia had lost at least 17 aircraft to friendly fire.

Russian officials have not publicly admitted that the helicopter was shot down by friendly fire. Military blogger Ilya Tumanov, known for the Fighterbomber channel, hinted at the cause without saying it directly. The Mi-8 is the backbone of Russia’s helicopter fleet, while the Su-35 is Russia’s most advanced fighter in wide service.