According to CNN, Ukraine reports multiple Russian airbases have been directly hit in a coordinated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack.
The multi-pronged strike occurred at bases separated by hundreds of kilometers and in the case of Engels more than 800 km from the border. A joint operation between the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine and Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ukraine Ministry of Defence claimed to inflict serious damage to Russian Aerospace Forces.
It came as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov's claimed that relations between Russia and NATO were tantamount to direct confrontation. (RELATED: Russia Targets French Troops Ahead Of Purported Deployment, France Denies Claims)
Loses allegedly include at least three Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bombers at the Engels-2 strategic bomber military airbase outside Saratov, including seven Russian servicemen. Two Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft and four servicemen were supposedly lost in Yeysk. Initial reports suggest six planes destroyed near Rostov. Details of the attack on the Kursk airfield have not been reported.
Footage circulating online showed a large fireball erupting at the Morozovsk airfield near Southern Russia's largest city, Rostov-on-Don. Damage to the power station reportedly caused a blackout in the city of 1.1 million people.
The governor of Rostov Oblast claimed that air defenses shot down more than 40 drones but acknowledged “minor damage” to an electrical substation.
“The operation is important to decrease Russian military potential,” a Ukrainian source with knowledge of the strike on Morozovsk told CNN:
According to the source, the airfield was targeted because it was used as a base for aircraft “used to launch guided air bombs on Ukrainian positions and border settlements.” Approximately 20 Russian personnel were impacted – either killed or wounded, the source added.
CNN cannot independently verify the claims. If true, the strikes will be the most damaging carried out at an airfield inside Russia since the start of the conflict in February 2022.
Several regions in Russia have been targeted by UAV attacks overnight, with the Ministry of Defense claiming Friday the interception and destruction of at least 53 Ukrainian drones across various territories.
According to the ministry, air defense systems intercepted 44 UAVs over the Rostov region, six UAVs over the Krasnodar region, and one each over the Saratov, Kursk and Belgorod regions.
Ukraine's focus on cross-border strikes is not just a tactical move but a psychological one. Reports suggest that while there is widespread verbal support for the war among Russians, there is a noticeable reluctance to engage in combat.
However, high-ranking officials in Kyiv warn that a concentrated and prolonged Russian summer offensive could shatter their defenses.
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