Russian missiles devastate Ukrainian airbase, multiple MiGs destroyed
Ukrainian aviation faces dark times. Recordings that have surfaced online show Russian missiles hitting an airbase near Dnipro and its anti-aircraft defenses not once but twice—on both Thursday and Saturday. The attacks likely destroyed at least three MiG-29 fighter jets.
6:37 AM EDT, April 22, 2024
Located over 62 miles from the front line in central-eastern Ukraine, the Aviatorskoje Airport near Dnipro was struck on Thursday by what are believed to be Iskander 9K720 ballistic missiles equipped with cluster warheads.
The assault destroyed at least two MiG-29 fighters, several warehouses, and an S-300 anti-aircraft defense battery system near the base, under Liubymivka, on the east side of the Dnipro River. A Russian reconnaissance drone, likely an Orlan-10, recorded the entire operation, which analysts see as proof of Ukrainian air defense vulnerabilities at this stage of the conflict.
A second strike
A Russian military pilot documented a subsequent attack on Saturday via the Fighterbomber Telegram channel. This second assault took down another MiG-29, the targeting system of the S-300 anti-aircraft battery system (located northeast of Dnipro, near Dniprowskie), and the 79K6 "Pelikan" radar.
The Saturday strike appears to have been executed with two Iskander ballistic missiles, along with a Kh-35 Uran missile. This event, too, was captured by a Russian drone.
There is speculation that the targeted MiGs might have been decoys, but such claims cannot be confirmed.
Source: Rybar/Fighterbomber/Defence 24
