For first time ever: Ukraine's intelligence destroys two Russian Be-12 amphibious aircraft in Crimea

According to HUR, on September 21 in occupied Crimea, fighters of the Ghosts special unit of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence hunted down two Russian Be-12 Seagull amphibious aircraft.

“This is the first strike against a Be-12 in history,” HUR noted.

Along with the two Be-12 aircraft, during the raid in Crimea, the Ghosts unit also struck another Russian multipurpose Mi-8 helicopter.

Be-12 Seagull amphibious aircraft

The Be-12 Seagull is a Soviet anti-submarine amphibious aircraft developed in the 1960s by the Beriev Design Bureau. It can take off both from land and from water. The aircraft’s main missions include detecting, tracking, and destroying submarines, as well as performing search-and-rescue operations.

The Be-12 is equipped with hydroacoustic buoys, a magnetometer, radar systems, and can carry torpedoes, depth bombs, and other specialized weaponry.

Despite its age, the Be-12 remained part of Russia’s naval aviation, particularly in the Black Sea. Due to its limited numbers and complex maintenance requirements, the aircraft is considered rare and expensive to operate, with its anti-submarine systems still valuable today. That is why the destruction of two such planes by Ukrainian forces in Crimea is both symbolically and practically significant - Russia lost unique equipment that cannot be quickly replaced.

Explosions in Crimea

On the evening of September 21, explosions sounded in the Foros area of occupied Crimea, near a sanatorium linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The strike may have caused casualties.

Recently, Ukrainian partisans also set fire to a relay cabinet on a railway in Russia’s Karachay-Cherkess Republic.