A Russian air defense officer has been sentenced to prison for mistakenly shooting down a Russian Mi-8 military helicopter over Crimea, believing it to be a Ukrainian drone.
The incident took place on December 18, 2024, and resulted in the death of three crew members.
According to the Russian news outlet Kommersant, the Sevastopol Garrison Military Court sentenced Igor Pashkov, a serviceman in an air defense unit, to two years and ten months in a penal colony for negligence.
The court also imposed a fine of five million rubles to be paid to the Ministry of Defense and one million rubles each to the widows of the deceased pilots. Initially, Pashkov faced up to seven years in prison but received a reduced sentence following an appeal.
Pashkov was on duty when he received a report of a "low-flying, low-speed aerial target."
Miscommunication and errors in relaying information led him to classify the target as a Ukrainian drone.
Acting on this misjudgment, he ordered a TOR-M2DT anti-aircraft missile to engage the target. The missile struck a Russian Mi-8 helicopter, causing it to crash into the Black Sea and killing all three crew members on board.
A criminal case was initially opened against unidentified persons for violating combat duty protocols.
Pashkov later confessed to his actions, resulting in the charges being revised to negligence leading to the death of three people. The Military Investigative Committee determined that Pashkov’s careless attitude toward his duties caused him to misidentify the helicopter and its location.
In addition to the prison sentence, Pashkov was banned from holding public office for one year. While he attempted to compensate the victims’ families with a 10,000-ruble payment, it was rejected and returned by the relatives.
