Ukrainian Drones Destroy Rare Russian Maritime Patrol Aircraft at Yeysk Air Base

(YEYSK, KRASNODAR REGION) – Ukrainian forces have destroyed a rare Russian Be-200 maritime patrol aircraft and struck a Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopter during a drone operation targeting an air base in the Krasnodar region.

Footage released by the Suchomimus channel, which monitors and verifies strike imagery, shows an FP-2 drone making a successful direct hit on the Be-200 amphibious aircraft whilst it was parked on the tarmac. A second drone flying overhead captured the aircraft burning, confirming the destruction. The Be-200 is an amphibious flying boat designed for firefighting, search and rescue, maritime patrol and transport. Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Services held seven in service at the start of the war with two more on order. The Ministry of Defence had three in service, one of which had its wing knocked off by a previous Ukrainian strike in April 2024. This latest loss reduces that small fleet further.

The same operation struck a Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopter, an ungainly but reliable rotary aircraft of which Russia had approximately 100 in service. The helicopter was covered by protective netting. A secondary drone passed overhead but could not confirm whether the netting absorbed the strike or the helicopter sustained damage, though the channel assessed that damage was likely.

Ukrainian drones also hit a pair of valuable short range air defence systems in the same region, either Taganrog or Krasnodar. A Tor-M2 short range surface to air system took a direct hit on its rear section. A Pantsir-S1 system, positioned in a dug-in revetment for protection, was caught with its crew unprepared. Russia held around 130 Pantsir-S1 units in service before the war, with production continuing throughout the conflict, making the true current inventory difficult to ascertain. Over 70 Tor systems have been visually confirmed destroyed.

In a separate strike in the port of Berdiansk, located in occupied Ukrainian territory, multiple drones attacked a Russian cargo vessel that Ukraine stated was carrying ammunition destined for frontline units. The vessel was hit in a cargo storage area. The channel assessed the damage as unknown, noting that the drones appeared to lack sufficient penetration to cause catastrophic damage to a cargo ship of that size. That assessment was tempered by a previous successful Ukrainian operation in which FP-1 and FP-2 attack drones sank a cargo vessel in the Caspian Sea that had been transporting Shahed drone parts from Iran.

The confirmed location of the primary strikes was Yeysk, situated on the Sea of Azov coast in the Krasnodar region. The cargo ship strike took place in Berdiansk, a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast of Ukraine currently under Russian occupation.