Which western Helicopter would be comparable in the class of th Mi-8?
AS332 Super Puma and Sikorsky S61 are both "Light" helicopters compared to the Mi8 & Mi17 series at about 9000 kgs but they probably cost about $ 5.000 USD/hr.
So the Russian helicopters are much cheaper to hire or operate but then again they donīt have to pay European wages.