Russia Has Lost About 13 Military Aircraft In Five Weeks

31.10.2026, 22:14

A major blow to the Russian Air Force.

Over the past five weeks, the Russian armed forces have lost approximately 13 military aircraft and one helicopter as a result of Ukrainian strikes on air bases, as well as a series of crashes and technical failures. This was reported by United24, citing data from the “Oko Gora” monitoring project and the specialized resource Defence Blog.

The largest share of confirmed losses was among the Su-34 frontline bombers. The Russian military is actively using these aircraft to drop glide bombs on Ukrainian troops’ defensive lines and populated areas. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, by the end of October, Russia had approximately 140 such aircraft in service. At the same time, over the past 12 months, manufacturers have delivered 22 new Su-34s to the army, whereas in October alone, Ukrainian forces destroyed seven such aircraft and damaged two more—equivalent to nearly one-third of the annual supply volume.

On October 4, drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine attacked the Khanskaya airbase in Adygea (about 500 km from the front line), striking Su-34s and Su-35s. On October 14–15, a “Neptune” missile strike on the Borisoglebsk airfield in the Voronezh region destroyed four Su-34s and severely damaged two more aircraft. On October 29, the Marinovka airfield in the Volgograd region was struck by “Neptune” missiles, where two more Su-34 bombers were destroyed.

In addition to the effective strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Russian Air Force faced a series of non-combat incidents. In the Far East, a Tu-95MS strategic bomber crashed on September 29 while taking off from the Ukrainka airbase in the Amur Region. And aircraft of this type, used to launch X-101 cruise missiles at Ukraine, are no longer manufactured in Russia. Of the seven crew members, only one survived. On October 21, during a training flight in the Kaliningrad Region, a Su-30SM fighter jet crashed (the pilots ejected); on the same day, the loss of another similar aircraft was reported. On October 29, at the Akhtubinsk test airfield in the Astrakhan region, the newest fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jet caught fire while its power plant was being started.

A separate loss of rotary-wing aircraft was recorded: On October 30, in the Luhansk region, servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 3rd Assault Brigade destroyed a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter using attack drones immediately after it landed.

According to estimates by the Oryx analytical project, since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the loss or damage of at least 205 Russian military aircraft has been visually confirmed, 48 of which are Su-34 bombers.

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