Russia announced it had foiled the ‘helicopter hijacking’ plot

“Agents of the General Directorate of Military Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR) tried to recruit Russian military pilots with the aim of hijacking the Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare helicopter when the aircraft reached enemy-controlled areas,” The Russian Security Service (FSB) announced on November 11.

The Russian pilot involved said Ukrainian intelligence representatives contacted him via Telegram. “They announced that on the set date, I had to fly a helicopter over the front line after poisoning my comrades,” this person said. “Ukrainian intelligence agents sent me the necessary drugs and dosage instructions.”

The Ukrainian side promised this pilot that it would bring his family to Ukraine via Turkey and Moldova. “Ukrainian intelligence promised to pay 750,000 USD and support me in becoming a Czech citizen,” the Russian pilot said.

After the Russian pilot reported about GUR’s plan, the army and FSB launched a counterintelligence campaign, discovering Ukraine’s military positions and air defense positions. Russian forces then used rocket artillery to attack these positions, according to the FSB.

Ukraine and the parties mentioned by the Russian pilot have not commented on the information.

According to the FSB, this is not the first time this agency has foiled a plan to recruit pilots and hijack planes by Ukrainian intelligence. The most recent time took place in July with a plot to target a Tu-22M3 bomber. The counterintelligence campaign helped Russia collect a lot of information to raid and cause damage to the Ozerne air base in Zhytormy province, northern Ukraine.

In July 2022, the FSB destroyed GUR’s plan to recruit Su-34 pilots and launched a counterintelligence campaign to help the Russian military destroy a series of enemy military infrastructure. Ukraine in April 2023 opened an investigation into agents suspected of arbitrarily persuading Russian Su-34 pilots to defect, causing the enemy to launch a counterattack causing heavy damage.

In August 2023, Ukraine announced to lure Russian pilots to defect and hand over Mi-8 helicopters, then revealed that this person was Maksim Kuzminov, captain of the 319th Independent Helicopter Regiment. Kuzminov on August 14 2 were shot dead in the town of Villajoyosa, Alicante province of Spain, local authorities have not found the culprit.

Mi-8MTPR-1 is an electronic warfare variant of the Mi-8 helicopter line, equipped with the Rychag-AV electronic warfare system capable of electronic suppression, fooling enemy sensor and missile systems. location, lookout for allied aircraft and helicopters, as well as protect important ground bases.

The first two Mi-8MTPR-1 prototypes were built from old Mi-8 helicopters and underwent evaluation testing in the early 2010s. The Russian Ministry of Defense in November 2013 ordered 18 Mi-8MTPR- 1 before completion of testing, these aircraft were built on the basis of the Mi-8MTV-5-1 variant.