Finland , in 2005 The
Finnish Defence Forces and the
Finnish Border Guard began using Mi-8s in the 1970s, with the
Finnish Air Force receiving its first, serialed HS-2, on 28 May 1973, and the second, HS-1, on 31 May 1973. Six Mi-8Ts were obtained at first, followed by further two Mi-8Ts and two Mi-8Ps. Three of the helicopters were handed over to the Border Guard Wing. One of these was lost after sinking through ice during a landing in April 1982. It was soon replaced by a new Mi-8. After their Border Guard service, the helicopters were transferred to the civil register, but shortly thereafter to the Finnish Air Force. In 1997 it was decided that all helicopters, including the remaining five Mi-8Ts and two Mi-8Ps, should be transferred to the Army Wing at
Utti. All Mi-8s have now been retired. One Mi-8 is on display at the
Finnish Aviation Museum in
Vantaa, and one is at the
Päijänne Tavastia Aviation Museum in
Asikkala, near
Lahti. One Mi-8T is on display in Tuulos. The two final Mi-8Ts were given to Hungary in August 2011 with all the remaining spare parts.
Georgia The Georgian air force started operating Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters from 1991 onwards. During the
War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) Mi-8 helicopters were used by both sides. Several were shot down, the first being a Georgian civilian Mi-8T which was destroyed in Sukhumi by an
RPG-7. On 14 December 1992, a Russian Air Force Mi-8T was
shot down by a SA-14 missile near Lata. On another occasions Abkhaz Mi-8MTVs were shot down by Georgian forces, by SA-14 in one case and by
RPG-18 in a second case, both during 1993.
India The Indian Air Force inducted the Mi-8 in the 1970s as part of a growing rotary-wing fleet that evolved without centralised long-term planning. Acquired in the wake of geopolitical deals and stop-gap needs, the Mi-8 formed the backbone of medium-lift capability before being succeeded by the Mi-17.
Iraq Mi-8s were employed by the former
Iraqi Army Aviation and
Iraqi Air Force under
Saddam Hussein. In the
Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s, there were
air-to-air combat between Iraqi and
Iranian Army Aviation helicopters, including between Iranian
Bell AH-1J Cobras and Iraqi Mi-8s.
South Sudan On 21 December 2012, a
Nizhnevartovskavia owned Mi-8 working for the
United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was shot down and crashed near Likuangole in the
South Sudanese state of
Jonglei during the
South Sudan internal conflict. All four Russian crewmembers on board were killed, and after some initial confusion, a UN spokesman said that the South Sudanese army confirmed on 22 December that it mistakenly fired at the helicopter. On 26 August 2014, a
UTair Aviation owned Mi-8 working for the
United Nations crashed as it approached a landing airstrip near Bentiu. Three of the Russian crew members died and one was injured. Rebel commander
Peter Gadet claimed that his forces brought it down using a rocket-propelled grenade.
Soviet Union The Mi-8 family of helicopters became the main Soviet (and later Russian) helicopter, covering a large range of roles in both peace time and war time. Large fleets of Mi-8 and its derivatives were employed by both military and civil operators. Large numbers of Mi-8 family helicopters were used during the
Soviet–Afghan War during the 1980s. Its rugged construction allowed easier in-theater operations and maintenance. A large number of Mi-8s were lost with several shot down by enemy fire, with the Mi-8 and its derivatives being the main aircraft model lost by the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Between April and May 1986, Mi-8s were used in large numbers to drop radiation-absorbing materials into the No. 4 reactor of
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the
Chernobyl disaster, and the fire was extinguished by the combined effort of helicopters dropping over 5000 metric tons of sand, lead, clay, and
neutron-absorbing boron onto the burning reactor and injecting
liquid nitrogen into it. Most of the helicopters were severely irradiated and abandoned in a giant junkyard, the so-called "machines cemetery" near Chernobyl, with several disappearing from the site in later years. During the initial operation, one crashed near the power plant after hitting a
construction crane cable with all the crew of four being killed in the crash. It is now known that virtually none of the neutron absorbers reached the core.
Ukraine On 16 August 2013, the
Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that one of its Mi-8MSB had set a
world altitude record of at the
Kirovske military airfield on 15 August. The Ukrainian Armed Forces used Mi-8MSB along with Mi-24s in operations against separatists in Eastern Ukraine during the
Russo-Ukrainian War. On 29 May 2014, a Ukrainian National Guard Mi-8 was brought down by
Russian separatist forces in Donbas using a
MANPADS near Slavyansk with 12 personnel, including an Army general, killed and one seriously injured. On 24 June 2014, a Ukrainian National Guard Mi-8 was shot down by separatist forces again using a MANPADS near Slavyansk with nine personnel killed. Ukrainian forces used Mi-8 helicopters to resupply forces during the
Siege of Mariupol at
Azovstal iron and steel works and bring in additional reinforcements for the
Azov Regiment. Some 16 Mi-8s were used a number of times, two of which were shot down. Russia claimed on 5 April that it shot down two Ukrainian Mi-8s that it said were being used to evacuate commanders of the
Azov Regiment. In late August 2023, it was reported that a Russian defector named
Maksym Kuzminov handed over a Mi-8AMTSh to the Ukrainian forces in coordination with
Ukrainian Intelligence agents. On 16 October 2023, Ukrainian Colonel General
Oleksandr Syrskyi said that the
25th Separate Airborne Brigade had shot down a
Mi-8 without supplying the location. According to the
Oryx database 63 Mi-8 helicopters have been shot down in Ukraine thus far during the war, 29 of them being Ukrainian, and 34 Russian respectively. On 31 July 2024, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down over occupied Donetsk by Ukrainian
FPV drones. The first time a helicopter in combat was destroyed by a drone. The Mi-8 was believed to have been attacked on the ground either during landing or take off. On 31 December 2024, a Russian Mi-8 was shot down by a
MAGURA V5 sea drone armed with
R-73 Sea Dragon missiles near
Cape Tarkhankut, Crimea, while a second helicopter was damaged but managed to return to base, according to the
Main Directorate of Intelligence. As of 17 November 2025, Ukraine has lost 28 Mi-8 helicopters with one damaged during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian losses currently stand at 41 destroyed, with 12 damaged, and 1 lost through defection. On 06 June 2025, a Russian Mi-8 was destroyed at Bryansk International Airport by a Ukrainian drone, and a Russian
Mi-35 nearby was also damaged during the attack. On 29 September 2025, the
59th Assault Brigade destroyed a Russian Mi-8, near the village of Kotliarivka, Pokrovsk district, Donetsk Oblast. Using a $500 FPV drone, according to the Ukrainian commander of the
Unmanned Systems Forces Major
Robert “Madyar” Brovdi.
United States During the initial stages of
Operation Enduring Freedom, Mi-17s and Mi-8s were extensively used by the
CIA and
US Special Forces to assist the
Northern Alliance in their fight against the
Taliban. A number of Mi-8s and Mi-17s are used by US government agencies as of 2022.
Yugoslavia The
Yugoslav Air Force took delivery of 24 Mi-8T (Hip C) transport helicopters between May 1968 and May 1969 to equip two squadrons of the newly formed 119th transport regiment from
Niš military airport, each squadron with 12 helicopters. Subsequently, from 1973 to the early 1980s, Yugoslavia purchased more Mi-8T helicopters to re-equip two squadrons of 111th regiment from
Pleso military airport near
Zagreb and the 790th squadron from Divulje military airport near
Split, which was under the command of the
Yugoslav Navy. In total, the Yugoslav Air Force received 92 Mi-8Ts, designated by the
Yugoslav People's Army as the
HT-40, while local modification of several helicopters into electronic warfare variants produced the
HT-40E. Some 40 helicopters were equipped for firefighting operations. The Yugoslav Mi-8s' first combat operations were transport of Yugoslav People's Army troops and federal police forces to border crossings in Slovenia on 27 June 1991 during the
Ten-Day War. The members of
Slovenian
Territorial Defence fired
Strela 2 MANPAD, and shot one helicopter down, killing all crew and passengers. During combat in the winter of 1991 in the
Croatian war and in the spring of 1992 in the
Bosnian War, the Yugoslav People's Army used the Mi-8 fleet for the evacuation of injured personnel, transport of cargo and
search and rescue for the crews of aircraft forced down. As most flights were made behind the front, the Croatian forces were able to down just one helicopter, which was hit by small arms fire near
Slavonski Brod on 4 October 1991. After
Bosnian Serbs declared their
state in the spring of 1992, some former Yugoslav Air Force Mi-8s continued service with the Republika Srpska armed forces. The inventory of the 82nd mixed helicopter squadron, of the 92nd aviation brigade of the
Army of Republika Srpska comprised 12 Mi-8T helicopters, which continued in service until
Operation Koridor. During that period, the
Republika Srpska Air Force lost three Mi-8 helicopters to enemy fire. Three helicopters painted in a blue and white colour scheme flew in the first part of 56th helicopter squadron of the
Krajina Milicija, using Udbina military airport in
Lika as their main base. The Republika Srpska Air Force continued to operate nine helicopters, albeit suffering problems with maintenance and spare parts, until it was formally disbanded in 2006. On the other side, Mi-8 helicopters were also used as main air transport. The
Croatian National Guard obtained its first on 23 September 1991, near
Petrinja, when a Yugoslav Air Force Mi-8 made an emergency landing after being damaged by small-arms fire. A further 6 Mi-8T and 18 Mi-8MTV-1 helicopters were bought from ex-
Warsaw Pact countries during the war, with 16 being used in active service, and remaining were used as source for spare parts. The remaining Mi-8Ts were retired from service in the
Croatian Air Force after the war, while the Mi-8MTVs continued their service in 20th Transport Helicopter Squadron and 28th Transport Helicopter Squadron. The latter has been re-equipped with new
Mi-171Sh helicopters bought from Russia. The
Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina secretly obtained Mi-8T, Mi-8MTV and Mi-17 helicopters from various sources. Two helicopters were shot down by Serb air defenses, one around Žepa, while one Mi-17 was shot down by
2K12 Kub M, killing the Bosnian Foreign Affairs Minister
Irfan Ljubijankić, a few other politicians, and the helicopter's Ukrainian crew. A few Croatian Mi-8MTVs secretly supported
Croatian Defence Council operations in
Herceg Bosna. After the war, the
Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina operated the remaining five Mi-8MTVs and one Mi-8T in the Air Force and Air Defense Brigade of
Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The
North Macedonian Air Force bought two Mi-8MT helicopters in 2001 from
Ukraine. They fly in the Transport Helicopter Squadron (ex 301. Transport Helicopter Squadron). One crashed, killing all 8 passengers and 3 crew members in
an accident in January 2008. During the
Kosovo War of 1998 and 1999, the
Federal Yugoslav Air Force used Mi-8s for transport of personnel and material to forces in otherwise-inaccessible mountain areas. Evacuation of injured personnel also occurred during the
1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, flying at low altitude to avoid detection by NATO aircraft. In 1999, Yugoslav Mi-8s shot down at least one US Army
Hunter UAV with the door gunner's 7.62 mm machine gun. Two Mi-17V helicopters secretly operated by the
Special Operations Unit post-1997 were also active during the Kosovar conflict. After the unit disbanded in 2003, the helicopters were transferred to
Serbia and Montenegro's air force. As of mid-2020, the
Serbian Air Force, the successor of the Federal Yugoslav Air Force, operates a small amount of Mi-8T which are now being replaced by Mi-17 helicopters. There are 13 Mi-17 in the Serbian air force currently. They are in the 138th Mixed-Transport-Aviation Squadron of
204th Air Base and 119th Combined-Arms Helicopter Squadron (ex 199th regiment) of
98th Air Base.
Others • Canada – After Canada committed combat forces to fight the
Taliban in Afghanistan, they realized their mobility depended on borrowed helicopter airlift. In 2007, the
Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay announced the lease of 6 to 8 Mi-8s, particularly Kazan Helicopters Mi-17-V5s, until the introduction of 6 interim
CH-47Ds in 2008 and later delivery of 15 new-build
CH-47Fs in 2013 by the
RCAF. • Poland – On 4 December 2003,
a Polish Mi-8 crashed near
Piaseczno while carrying Prime Minister
Leszek Miller, ten other passengers and four crewmen. There were no fatalities. The cause of the accident was the icing of the engines. The pilot was accused of causing the crash, but he was found not guilty. • Syria – During the
Yom Kippur War of October 1973, Syria landed special forces troops behind Israel Defense Forces lines on the Golan Heights at Mt. Hermon, Tel Fares, Vaset, Nafach and Ein Zivan – A Dalve. • Yemen—On 19 November 2023,
Houthi rebels utilized a captured Mi-17 helicopter to conduct an air assault boarding and seizure of the Japanese owned cargo ship
Galaxy Leader. • Vietnam- On 22 November 1992 a Vietnamese Mi-8 was sent from
Hanoi carrying rescue workers for
Flight 474, but it crashed near Ô Kha mountain on the same day. All seven people aboard were killed ==Variants==