ATACMS strike: number of Russian helicopters hit near Luhansk, Berdyansk airports

He shared the information on Espreso TV.

"It will take time to determine the effectiveness of strikes on enemy airfields near Luhansk and Berdyansk. In Berdyansk, the occupiers themselves provided some information for analysis, so it was possible to determine the approximate number of destroyed helicopters at that airport. As for Luhansk, the invaders were more cautious, or perhaps they could not film anything, but we still have objective information in the form of satellite images," commented the development director at Defense Express.

According to him, Defense Express experts have analyzed the latest satellite images from Planet Labs, which were published on the Internet.

"It should be noted that at the airfield near Luhansk, where the army helicopters were based, it is possible to identify that they were Ka-52 attack helicopters. The images also show that there is a high probability that 5 helicopters were hit at this airfield. And if we look at the airfield near Berdyansk, according to various estimates, up to 10 helicopters were destroyed there. Accordingly, the figure of 15 helicopters lost by the enemy is significant," emphasized the military expert.

Valeriy Riabykh noted that it is necessary to distinguish between the understanding of damage and destruction of a particular type of weapon and military equipment. Destruction does not imply restoration, i.e. it is an irrecoverable loss. As for damage, there is a possibility that it may be restored, which will take time depending on the degree of damage.

• On the night of October 16-17, Ukrainian defenders conducted successful strikes against Russian helicopters and airfields near Luhansk and Berdyansk.
• The Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed the attack on the airfields in Luhansk and Berdyansk. Nine helicopters and an ammunition depot were destroyed.