Air War over Ukraine - Death of Rare Birds
In today’s installment of the series, we look at the period from 1 November 2025 to 30 November 2025. During an attack on the Beriev plant in Taganrog, Russia lost two unique test aircraft in the monitored month: the Beriev A-60 and the Beriev A-100LL.
Miro Barič
Death of Rare Birds
In today’s installment of the series, we look at the period from 1 November 2025 to
30 November 2025. During an attack on the Beriev plant in Taganrog, Russia lost two
unique test aircraft in the monitored month: the Beriev A-60 and the Beriev A-100LL.
The Air War in Ukraine
On the ground front, Russian pressure
continued at several locations. The most
critical situations were around Pokrovsk and
Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast, Huliaipole in
Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Kupiansk in Kharkiv
Oblast. In the case of the latter, on Thursday,
20 November, Russian General Sergey
Kuzovlev even announced in a live television
broadcast to Putin that the city had been
completely captured—allegedly as early as
4 November—and received a decoration for it.
However, this was not true. Only small Russian
units (estimated at around 200 soldiers) had
infiltrated Kupiansk, and Ukrainian forces
recaptured most of the city. When this
deception came to light, General Kuzovlev
disappeared and was later found dead.
In the other mentioned cities, however,
the situation was far worse for Ukrainian
defenders. The reason was not only Russian
pressure, which relied primarily on infiltration
by small groups and disruption of the Ukrainian
rear. Frontline positions were patched together
by various units with poor coordination. When
the enemy bypassed them on the flanks,
withdrawal orders often did not arrive in time,
and some units were lost as a result. Ultimate
responsibility for this long-unresolved
situation lies with the Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr
Syrskyi.
On the very first day of the monitored
period, Saturday, 1st of November, Ukrainian
military intelligence special forces (GUR)
attempted to reverse the unfavorable situation
in Pokrovsk. During the operation, GUR chief
Kyrylo Budanov was reportedly personally
present in the city. From the perspective of the
air war, it is particularly noteworthy that the
operation included a helicopter deployment.
GUR operates several UH-60 Black Hawk
helicopters, including one purchased by
donations from the Czech Republic and named
Čestmír. It is unclear how many helicopters
were used; drone reconnaissance footage
captured only one. The mission of the special
forces was to penetrate and clear supply
routes within the city that had been infiltrated
by Russian troops. The course and outcome of
the operation remain unknown. Russia claims
that all Ukrainian soldiers were killed shortly
after disembarking from the helicopter, which
Ukraine denies. While the mission was close to
suicidal, the Ukrainians likely achieved some
success, as the situation improved—albeit only
temporarily.
In this context, it is also notable that a few
days later Czech pro-Russian disinformation
actors began spreading claims that the Čestmír
helicopter took part in the Pokrovsk operation
and was shot down with all personnel on
board. However, even the Russian side made
no such claim—and Kremlin propaganda would
certainly have exploited the downing of a Black
Hawk. Russian statements only claimed that
Ukrainian special forces were eliminated after
landing during ground combat. No mention
was made of a helicopter being destroyed.
Moreover, the helicopter seen in the video
shows different paint details and was likely
not Čestmír at all.
Russian Losses
As far as aviation losses are concerned,
November was a successful month for Ukraine.
It suffered no known losses, while the Russian
Air Force lost several aircraft. On Thursday,
13 November, a Sukhoi Su-30SM2 fighter was
destroyed. This loss was not directly related
to combat in Ukraine, although years of war
undoubtedly take a toll on aircraft condition
and crew fatigue. The aircraft crashed at
Besovets Air Base in Karelia, near the Finnish
border, just a few hundred meters from the
runway. Both pilots were killed. One was
identified as Lieutenant Colonel Kirill Kartsev.
Other Russian losses were directly caused
by Ukraine. On Friday, 21 November, Ukrainian
military intelligence GUR released video
footage of a drone attack on a Kamov Ka-27
helicopter at Prymorskyi Air Base in Crimea.
The attack itself had occurred earlier, likely
at the beginning of the month. Only drone
footage was released; the aftermath was not
documented by other means, such as satellite
imagery.
By contrast, the attack on Tuesday,
25 November, is very well documented by both
ground footage and satellite images. Ukrainian
drones struck Taganrog-South Airfield on the
coast of the Sea of Azov in Russia’s Rostov
Oblast. This site is the G. M. Beriev Taganrog
Aviation Scientific-Technical Complex, in other
words, the Beriev factory. Satellite imagery
revealed multiple hits on the assembly hall
(holes in the roof) and two aircraft destroyed on
the apron: a Beriev A-60 and a Beriev A-100LL.
In both cases, these were experimental test
aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport
platform.
The A-60 originated in the late 1970s
and early 1980s and was used to test laser
weapons. Two examples were built; the aircraft
destroyed in Taganrog carried the registration
RA-86879. Its explosion was also captured on
video. Officially, this A-60 was retired in 2016,
Infiltration of the Ukrainian special forces from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter near Pokrovsk.
UKRAINE
INFO Eduard28
January 2026