Ukrainian drones strike deep in Russia, destroy key aircraft
4:21 PM EDT, August 21, 2024
A Ukrainian kamikaze drone struck the Sawaslejka military airport in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia. As a result of the attack, the Russians lost at least three aircraft.
The report was confirmed to the portal Ukrainska Pravda by a source from military intelligence (HUR). According to the source, the attack destroyed a MiG-31 (variant K or I), two IL-76s, and damaged about five aircraft, probably MiG-31Ks. Currently, there are no video materials or official confirmation of this information.
The previous strike on the Sawaslejka airport was carried out on August 13. It resulted in the destruction of a fuel and lubricant depot and damage to a MiG-31K/I aircraft.
According to space intelligence data, at the time of the attack on August 13, there were 11 MiG-31K/I and IL-76 aircraft and five Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters at the airport.
Anton Herashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, reminds on the X service that the MiG-31K aircraft is capable of carrying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which the Russians use to destroy Ukraine's critical infrastructure.
Attack in the Murmansk region
"Ukrainian drones attacked the Murmansk region on Wednesday," reported the region's governor, Andrei Chibis. According to Russian military officers, the drones managed to reach the village of Vysokoye in the northern part of the region, near the Olenya military airport, where strategic bombers Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 are stationed.
"Ukraine attacked the Murmansk region using drones for the first time. This is the longest-range record in the entire war," announced The Moscow Times.