Strategy to erode Russian air power
Ukrainian armed forces have stepped up efforts to erode Russia's air superiority in the war by attacking air bases housing supersonic fighter jets on Russian territory.
Kyiv said its military carried out an attack on Russia's Shaykovka air base about 200km northeast of the Ukrainian border on Monday.
Over the weekend, the Russian defense ministry said the Ukrainian military had launched another drone attack on the Soltsy military airport in the Novgorod region, also hundreds of kilometers north of Ukraine.
Images posted on social media on Sunday showed a plane on fire at a military base in Russia's Novgorod region. Photo: warhistoryalconafter/Telegram.
Moscow’s air superiority has been a major obstacle to Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Ukrainian forces have been advancing through dense minefields and multiple layers of defense along the front line while being repeatedly attacked from the air.
This is why Kyiv has made the purchase of F-16 fighter jets from its allies a priority. Although the Netherlands and Denmark agreed last week to provide fighter jets to Ukraine, the process of training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16s will take months. In the meantime, Ukraine appears to be aiming to erode Russia’s air power by attacking its air bases.
Shaykovka air base operates a number of Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bombers that have been used by the Russian military in attacks on targets in Ukraine since 2022. Last week, the Ukrainian air force reported that aircraft from Shaykovka had launched four Kh-22 cruise missiles towards Ukraine.
A drone attack on the Shaykovka base in Russia’s Kaluga region on Monday “damaged at least one aircraft,” Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Service spokesman Andriy Yusov said.
Yusov told the Ukrainian media site Liga.net that the attack was carried out “through effective operational coordination with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry” and that the mission was carried out from inside Russian territory.
He also added that Ukraine continues to carry out missions from within Russian territory “in many other cases”.
Tupolev Tu-22M supersonic bomber.Photo: YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images.
Russia has yet to comment on the incident. However, a Russian social media blog close to the country’s security, Baza, said a Ukrainian drone crashed at the Shaykovka military base on Monday, and “an unused aircraft on the runway was damaged.” The blog said the information was unconfirmed.
Another Russian Telegram channel called Mash also reported on the incident.
“A Ukrainian UAV landed at the airport at around 8am. According to the information we received, it was a civilian helicopter carrying an IED (improvised explosive device) and a reinforced battery - the aircraft was detected in time and shot down.”
Earlier, the governor of the region, Vladislav Shapsha, reported that a drone attack had been “repulsed” in the Kirov region. The airbase is about 15km north of the town of Kirov.
Mr Yusov insisted that Russia was avoiding talking about the incident. “At least one plane was damaged. As in other cases, the Russian authorities are trying to hide the seriousness of the actual loss and damage,” he said.
Loss of morale
Monday's attack was the second on the airbase housing Russia's powerful military hardware in the past three days.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that a Ukrainian drone damaged a plane at a military airport in Soltsy, Novgorod region in northwestern Russia. Ukraine has not commented on the incident.
The Russian Defense Ministry said a drone attacked the airport on Saturday morning, causing a fire. The ministry said the drone was detected and “shot down with small arms fire.” The ministry statement did not give details of the damage, and said the attack caused no casualties.
An analysis of satellite images of the airbase by CNN shows that the airport has been used to house Tu-22M2 bombers.
Images taken on August 8 show several Tu-22s at the base. A photo taken on August 21 shows a charred area where a Tu-22M3 had been parked, with other aircraft appearing to have been moved.
Two photos posted on social media obtained by CNN show a similar aircraft on fire at the base.
Ukrainian media quoted a defense intelligence official as saying: Attacks on Russian bases in recent days have confirmed that these attacks have destroyed many aircraft including two bombers.
According to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), several Russian military bloggers have claimed that Ukrainian forces used several small, low-cost unmanned helicopters to carry out the attack. And they have criticized the Russian Defense Ministry for not storing the aircraft in warehouses where they could be better protected.
ISW also said that although the damage or destruction of the two Tu-22M3 aircraft would not have a major impact on the Russian military, reactions from Russian military bloggers showed that “these deep-range strikes contribute to Ukraine's efforts to erode Russian military morale.”
Nguyen Quang Minh (According to CNN)
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