Satellite imagery of Sochi International Airport appears to show two Russian attack helicopters destroyed after a Ukrainian drone strike on 4 September, with a Mi-8 also damaged at the military parking area beside the civil airport in Krasnodar Krai. The aircraft identified in open-source analysis were a Ka-52 and a Mi-28, while thermal data also pointed to fire activity near fuel storage and the runway-side helicopter stand.
The damage assessment circulated through the open-source Telegram channel Absolutely Reliable Source and was echoed by other outlets and analysts. The imagery-based assessment has not been officially confirmed by Russia, but it indicates losses to rotary-wing assets at a major Black Sea aviation site used for both military and civil operations.
The strike also appears to have affected fuel infrastructure and air-defence or radar equipment at the airport, broadening the damage beyond the aircraft themselves. The incident highlights the exposure of parked military helicopters at mixed-use airports and the role of commercial satellite imagery in wartime battle-damage assessment.