Shot down a military helicopter over Crimea instead of a drone. A Russian officer has been convicted.

A Russian military officer was sentenced for shooting down his own Mi-8 helicopter in Crimea while trying to hit a drone. According to Russian media reports, he was convicted for negligence shown during the defense of Crimea against Ukrainian Armed Forces attacks. Instead of a drone, a Russian helicopter was shot down. The military officer was sentenced to a term in a penal colony. The Ministry of Defense was denied the recovery of almost 200 million rubles for the helicopter. The verdict limited him to three years in a penal colony and deprived him of the right to hold organizational and managerial positions in government service and local self-government for a year.

The incident occurred on October 18, 2023, at 06:30 AM when Captain Pashkov was on combat duty. He was informed about the detection of a low-flying aerial target. However, due to a mistake in the identification number, he reported that the target was in another location and it was necessary to make a decision regarding its destruction. It later became known that the target was a helicopter with its lights on, but it was already too late. Pashkov admitted his guilt. He paid 5 million rubles to the Russian Ministry of Defense, and the court appointed 1 million rubles to the widows of the pilots as compensation for moral damage.

The Russian air defense shot down its own Mi-8 helicopter. All crew members died. The spokesman for the Ukrainian Armed Forces Air Force, Yuriy Ihnat, noted that Russian military often shoot down their own planes and helicopters due to 'friendly fire'. Propagandists also claimed that Ukrainian forces destroyed two Mi-8 helicopters with crews over the Black Sea.