On Tuesday, it was reported that Ukrainian military intelligence services coordinated a pair of recent attacks using drones, targeting deep bases inside Russia and Ukraine. The attacks specifically hit parked bomber aircraft at airbases, carried out by Ukrainian saboteurs.
As reported by Ukrainska Pravda, as the conflict nears its 18-month mark, the strikes on Russian airbases on Saturday and Monday resulted in the destruction of two Russian bombers and the impairment of two additional aircraft.
The assertions on the field could not be authenticated. It implies that Ukraine’s range of activity is expanding, as stated by that newspaper and Ukraine’s NV news outlet, indicating that certain factions of saboteurs were responsible for the bold attacks.
Ukrainian media credited the saboteurs with two attacks: one on the Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region of northwestern Russia, approximately 700 kilometers (360 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, on Saturday, and another on the Shaikovka air base in the southwestern Kaluga region, which is around 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border, on Monday.
Russian media provided commentary, however, the Russian Defense Ministry refrained from commenting on the alleged assault on Shaikovka. The Russian Defense Ministry did acknowledge that one aircraft was damaged in the attack on Soltsy.
Ukraine has recently deployed unmanned aerial vehicles against Moscow, including an attack on Tuesday. Additionally, Ukraine has been aiming at Russian military resources located in eastern and southern Ukraine, which are positioned behind the primary battle zones. Since the beginning of this year, Ukraine has been actively attempting to bring the conflict into the core of Russia.
Kyiv is also attempting to maintain pressure on the Kremlin along multiple fronts, pursuing a counteroffensive at various points along the 900-mile (1,500-kilometer) front line, by diplomatically obtaining more weaponry for F-16 fighter jets.
According to a statement made on Tuesday by Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, the Ukrainian military in the frontline Zaporizhzhia region was being bombarded by Russian forces in the south-eastern village of Robotyne.
On Monday, Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence, informed the Ukrainian LIGA.Net news outlet that a Russian warplane was harmed in the assault on Shaikovka. He stated that the attack was executed by individuals who collaborated closely with Ukrainian military intelligence, although he did not provide any additional information.
The Associated Press analyzed satellite images from Planet Labs PBC and observed that on Aug. 16, ten Tupolev Tu-22M long-range bombers were situated on the apron of the Soltsy air base. By Monday, all of these bombers had departed the air base, just two days after the attack. Additionally, a prominent black mark was left behind by one of the Tupolevs that had been parked on the apron.
The media published photos purportedly showing a Russian Tu-22M bomber ablaze after an attack on the Ukrainian air base.
Some recent strikes in the past few days apparently used small, primitive drones to corroborate the possibility that they were launched by saboteurs. These drones have a range of up to 600 miles (1,000 kilometers). Previous attacks on Ukrainian air bases involved Soviet-designed drones powered by turbojet engines.
In addition, on Monday, a Russian retiree discovered the wreckage of a drone, which was painted in the blue and yellow hues of the Ukrainian flag, while walking in a forest approximately 600km (370 miles) to the north of the Ukrainian border.
On Tuesday, the Russian Baza telegram channel stated that the drone, which had the word “glory” inscribed on a broken wing, was shared on Russian social media platforms, showcasing the heroes written on the other wing and the inscription “glory to Ukraine.”
The local governor stated that on Tuesday, a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance team also attempted to breach the border in Russia’s western Bryansk region adjacent to Ukraine.
The attempt made by the Russian border guards to invade was thwarted by the National Guard and security units under the command of Governor Bogomaz Alexander. The validity of his assertion could not be confirmed by an unbiased source.
After accusing Ukraine of sending saboteurs into the western area of Russia, President Vladimir Putin ordered Service Security Federal to tighten border controls last March.
Meanwhile, the recent spate of drone attacks targeting Moscow’s air defense systems was apparently thwarted by Russia’s Ministry of Defense on Tuesday.
However, the falling debris from a single drone shattered the windows of an apartment building and caused damage to vehicles in the western suburbs of Moscow.
There were no reports of harm in the recent drone assaults that Russia attributed to Kyiv.
Though the drone attacks on Russian soil have occurred almost daily in recent weeks, they have caused little damage and no victims.
Tuesday, as a precautionary measure, flights at various airports in Moscow were temporarily halted due to the attacks, according to authorities.
The defense ministry reported that two additional unmanned aerial vehicles were disrupted and collided in the Bryansk area.
Ukraine has not accepted blame for the attempted drone attacks, and neither have top Russian officials made any statement regarding the incident.
