Russia has lost a quarter of its fleet of Ka-52 helicopters since start of full-scale invasion - British intelligence

This was reported by the British Ministry of Defense on Twitter.

British intelligence draws attention to the fact that there have been at least 23 verified losses of Russia’s Ka-52 HOKUM attack helicopter in Ukraine since the invasion. This represents over 25% of the Russian Air Force’s in-service fleet of 90 Ka-52s, and nearly half of Russia’s total helicopter losses in Ukraine.

Russian attack helicopters have likely suffered particular attrition from Ukrainian man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), while the helicopters frequently operate with less consistent top-cover from combat jets than they would expect under Russian military doctrine.

"Russia is still failing to maintain adequate air superiority in order to reliably carry out effective fixed wing close air support near the front line, and its artillery ammunition is running low. Russian commanders are likely increasingly resorting to conducting high-risk attack helicopter missions as one of the few options available to provide close support for troops in combat," British intelligence concluded.

According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as of October 24, the Ukrainian military targeted a total of 245 Russian helicopters.