Direct proof of use
The Ka-29 is documented in Russian service during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through reporting on Black Sea counter-drone operations. The War Zone reported that a Russian Navy Ka-29 Helix-B was downed near Anapa on June 21, 2024, during a large Ukrainian UAV and uncrewed-surface-vessel attack on Crimea and Russia's Krasnodar region.
The same incident tied the helicopter to counter-USV activity. The War Zone cited Russian channels that described the aircraft as searching for or helping destroy Ukrainian drone boats, while Newsweek separately reported that the Ka-29 was shot down as it was searching for Ukrainian sea drones. Covert Shores recorded the same date as a Ka-29 HELIX-B loss while engaging Ukrainian USVs.
Sources: TWZ Russian Navy Ka-29 downed, Newsweek Russia downs own Ka-29, Covert Shores Black Sea timeline
Timeline
The clearest dated milestone is June 21, 2024, when Russian and Ukrainian reporting placed a Ka-29 near Anapa during a mass Ukrainian drone attack that combined aerial drones and uncrewed surface vessels. Russian accounts cited by The War Zone differed on whether the aircraft was hit by Russian air defense or by another mechanism, so the record supports the helicopter's operational context more firmly than the exact cause of loss.
Later reporting indicates Russia continued to view Ka-29 helicopters as part of its answer to Ukrainian unmanned threats. Defense Express reported on May 30, 2026, that Russia announced a new Northern Fleet aviation regiment with Ka-29 transport-attack helicopters and described the stated mission as protecting ships from Ukrainian naval drones and UAVs.
Sources: TWZ Russian Navy Ka-29 downed, Covert Shores Black Sea timeline, Defense Express Ka-29 regiment report
Narrative
The Ka-29 entered the war record as a Russian naval aviation asset rather than as a widely documented amphibious-assault transport. Open reporting places the type in the Black Sea security problem created by Ukrainian maritime drones, where helicopters could search for, engage, or respond to uncrewed surface vessels threatening Russian naval and coastal targets.
The June 2024 Anapa loss illustrates that role and its risks. Russian Defense Ministry statements quoted in the same reporting said Black Sea Fleet naval aviation destroyed Ukrainian unmanned boats during the overnight attack, while Russian and Ukrainian sources disputed how the Ka-29 itself was lost. The documented use claim is therefore narrow: Russian Ka-29s were fielded in counter-USV and fleet-protection activity in the war, with one aircraft lost during that mission set.
By 2026, Russian reporting and Ukrainian defense analysis described Ka-29s in a broader force-protection context beyond the Black Sea. Defense Express linked the new Northern Fleet helicopter regiment to concern over Ukrainian drone threats far from Ukraine, treating the type as part of a defensive package for naval bases and ships rather than as a front-line troop-lift platform.
Sources: TWZ Russian Navy Ka-29 downed, Newsweek Russia downs own Ka-29, Covert Shores Black Sea timeline, Defense Express Ka-29 regiment report
