BarcelonaThe Ukrainian army and the security service (SBU) have claimed responsibility for an attack this Friday night on a Russian military base in Morózovsk, in the Rostov region, on the border with Ukraine, in which they claim to have destroyed six combat aircraft and left eight more damaged. The Associated Press agency has also reported that, according to Ukrainian officials, it has caused 20 casualties among the base’s personnel, including dead and wounded.
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While Russia has not confirmed the attack on the airbase, it has reported a massive strike by Ukrainian drones overnight. The governor of Rostov, Vasili Golubev, has detailed that Russian air defenses have shot down 53 Ukrainian drones, the vast majority in his region.
According to the open source analyst (OSINT, in English) MT Anderson, quoted by the Ukrainian media Euromaidan Press, several satellite images taken on Thursday show that there were up to 30 aircraft at the Morózovsk base, mostly Su-34 fighter-bombers. According to Ukrainian sources who have reported the attack to various media, there were also Su-27 fighters. These fighter jets are used to drop bombs on Ukrainian military positions and front-line cities, as specified by Ukrainian sources in The Kyiv Independent, which details that each of these planes has a cost of around 32 million euros.
Seconds Radio Liberty, several witnesses in the Morózovsk area have reported seeing numerous drones fall and more than 60 explosions. Ukrainian drones have also attacked the city of Engels in the Saratov region, where a military air base is also located. According to the regional governor, Roman Busargin, all the drones have been shot down and there have been no casualties or damage to infrastructure.
In March, Ukrainian media already reported an attack on this base and assured that it had managed to “hit targets”, without specifying which ones. Citing satellite images, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said there were 11 Russian military aircraft at the time of the attack, including six Tu-95s and three Tu-160s.
Drones, crucial for Ukraine
Ukraine has stepped up its drone strikes on Russian territory in recent weeks, mostly targeting oil refineries, despite warnings from the United States, which fears it could push up fuel prices. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted in an interview last week to The Washington Post that the government of Joe Biden, his main ally, has called his attention in this regard. “The reaction of the United States is not positive regarding this,” he asserted, but also said that Washington cannot limit Ukraine’s deployment of its own home-made weapons.
The production of drones is one of the focuses of attention of the Ukrainian army to gain initiative in the war at a time of difficulties in accessing the necessary ammunition. A senior government official told Reuters earlier this year that Ukraine expects to produce thousands of long-range drones this year as part of a priority defense program in its war with Russia. Drones are becoming crucial, for example, in naval warfare and have allowed Kyiv to score a few victories in recent months.
2024-04-05 13:18:00
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