Thread by @MarcinRogowsk14

At night, the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out an attack on Berdiansk Airport, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The airport was used by the Russians mainly for helicopter operations. t.me/supernova_plus…

NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System shows multiple fires raging at Berdiansk Airport on 17 October 2023.

According to the Fighterbomber, prominent pro-Russian TG channel, losses in manpower and equipment are severe. t.me/fighter_bomber…

Latest Sentinel sat imagery taken on 15 October 2023 show at least 26 helicopters at Berdiansk Airport.

Russian Air Force helicopters burning after Ukrainian attack on Berdiansk Airport.

There are three separate fires visible in the video. The one on the right is definitely a helicopter as we can see rotor blades among the flames (third photo).

@Rebel44CZ At least one helo confirmed.

And we have the culprit

Longer version of the previous video. Seven separate fires are visible at the airport.

Ok, going from the left. 1st fire is too far to tell anything (possibly a helo). 2nd fire also too far (possibly a helo), we can see parked Ka-52 and Mi-8 (both not on fire). 3rd fire led to multiple explosions, it's an ammo dump or heavily armed helo (maybe Ka-52 or Mi-24VM).

4th fire is a Mi-8. 5th fire also led to multiple explosions, I think ammo dump or heavily armed helo. A Mi-8 parked nearby (green arrow) was likely damaged by the explosions.

6th fire is too far, possibly a helo, but who knows. 7th fire is behind the trees, maybe air defense spot?

I've been staring at this still frame for a while. And now I think that the helicopter next to fire no. 5 looks more like a Mi-28 than a Mi-8.

Thanks to @duke_garland_2 we have Planet Scope imagery taken on 17 October 2023.

These three black spots are interpreted by many as blast marks, but they are most likely the result of excessive post processing. Similar marks in the exact same spots are visible in Sentinel imagery taken on 15 October, so they cannot be the result of the attack.

It seems that five Russian Air Force helicopters were destroyed in the attack.

Higher resolution Planet Labs imagery taken on 18 October 2023.

Looks like eight destroyed helicopters.

I think this is the ninth destroyed helicopter.

By comparing Planet Labs imagery taken on 29 September 2023, we can assume with some degree of probability what types of helicopters were lost. Apparently four Mi-8 and five Ka-52 were destroyed in the attack on 17 October 2023.

And of course, one wonders why these four helicopters were not evacuated. As indicated in the comments, they were most likely damaged.