2024-07-31 18:54:40
Ukraine attacks a Russian airport. Russian Telegram channels talk about a lack of protection.
At first there was only talk of a fire near the airport in Saky on the Crimean peninsula. But it soon became clear that the Ukrainian attack on Friday night was severe. An ammunition depot went up in flames and a radar station was destroyed, according to “Newsweek”, Russian and Ukrainian military bloggers reported. The channel “Wind of Crimea” published a video that is said to show the attack.
Apparently four American ATACMS missiles hit the depot at the airport and the nearby radar station. According to the Telegram channel “Astra”, two Russian soldiers were wounded. Local residents heard more than a dozen explosions, reports the Ukrainian “Defense Express”. Some apparently came from Russian air defense. The Ukrainian military confirmed the attack, but gave no details. Shortly before the incident, Russian aircraft intercepted a British reconnaissance aircraft in the Sea of Azov.
According to Defense Express, Su-24M and Su-30M fighter jets are usually stationed at the Saky military airport, and Su-30 and Su-24 jets were also spotted in May. Russian military bloggers such as the Fighterbomber channel, which is said to be close to the Russian military, pointed out that the planes were hardly protected. Satellite images from May showed them standing openly on the airfield.
The Ukrainian “Defense Express” reports that there is currently no developed design of a standard protective cover for the Su-27 and its derivatives – Su-30, Su-34 and Su-35. This problem has existed since the 1980s. The reason given is the high cost of modifications.
It is still unclear whether any aircraft were hit in the latest attack. There has been no comment from the Russian side. The Saky airfield was already targeted by the Kiev forces in January, when Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, said that a checkpoint used by the Russian occupation forces had been destroyed there.