Ukrainian drones 'send message' to Russians with strikes on strategic airports – Reports
Such remarkable means of communication between Ukrainians and Russians have been prevalent since the onset of the war, although it is rare for the intended recipients to read the message, particularly one that is perfectly preserved. On Sunday, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Armed Forces verified its attacks on Russian military airports using drones.
4:03 PM EST, December 18, 2023
Lipetsk, Volgograd, and Rostov were the selected targets. Unmanned aircraft suddenly appeared over these areas, where Russians station strategic bombers like Su-24, Su-24M, and Su-34. At the Morozovsk airport, one drone struck and damaged an Su-34 as per unofficial details. This is evident from the photos available on the internet.
Another noticeable detail is a message, which the Ukrainians dispatched with the drone.
On a section of the drone, which remained relatively intact after the attack on Morozovsk, a sentence written in Cyrillic is discernible. What was the message on the drone? A simple sentence.
Salutations to the kacaps from Yarik! - eloquently penned the Ukrainians.
This is naturally malicious yet foreboding wording, seeing as a kamikaze drone is set to strike, explode, and inflict as much harm as possible. Soldiers from both armies engaged in this practice—dedicating various inscriptions to the enemy since the war began. Most commonly on artillery shells, bombs, and now even on drones used in assaults too.
It is uncommon for these messages to be read and not result in any damage on the destination's end. However, this instance proved different, even though the "greetings" to Russia certainly hit their mark.
Following the drone attacks on three key Russian airports, the Russians continue to deny any damage to their equipment and simultaneously assert that they downed all 35 unmanned aircraft. Meanwhile, the governor of the Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, presented a more cautious assessment of the aftermath of the attack compared to the Russian Defense Ministry, with less blatant falsehood.
Golubev confirmed that Ukrainian drones targeted the regions of Morozovsk and Kamensk within the Rostov region. He also asserted that "most drones were destroyed". Yet, he refrained from revealing the fate of those that weren't shot down. And, as is visible in the photos, some devices hit their targets and damaged costly planes.
The Su-34 is a versatile Russian tactical bomber, also deemed a fighter-bomber, capable of holding tactical nuclear weapons. Since the onset of the war, the aggressor has lost about 20 of these machines, each costing up to 36 million dollars. Conversely, a drone costs only a few hundred dollars and several hours of labor.
