A general view of damaged aircraft at Saki Airbase after the attack in Novofedorivka, Crimea August 10, 2022.Maxar Technologies/Handout via Portal
Several warplanes were damaged in recent explosions at a Russian base in occupied Crimea.
More than half of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet fighter jets are down, Western intelligence agencies and officials said.
Ukraine did not immediately take public responsibility for the apparent attack, but it did celebrate it.
Recent blasts, widely believed to be a Ukrainian attack on a Russian base in occupied Crimea, have destroyed more than half of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s fighter jets, Western officials told media on Friday.
Multiple explosions on August 9 at Saki Air Base – located far behind the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine – caused widespread damage and destroyed several Russian fighter jets and buildings.
According to multiple reports from Portal and others, Western officials said on Friday that the damage disabled more than half of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet’s naval aircraft, severely affecting the combat capability of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces in the region.
Damage includes an unspecified number of Russian Su-24 and Su-30 jets, which have been used by the Russian Air Force for decades. There have been conflicting reports on exactly how many planes were destroyed, although satellite images from last week show as many as 13 jets damaged and destroyed.
The British Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update last week that the lost jets represent only a small fraction of the total Russian aircraft stock available to support its war effort in Ukraine. But there was an outsized impact on the Black Sea Fleet.
“The fleet’s naval aviation capabilities are now significantly reduced,” according to British intelligence said late last week. “The incident is likely to prompt the Russian military to revise its threat perception. Crimea was probably considered a safe hinterland.”
Ukrainian intelligence subsequently reported that Russia had moved a number of other aircraft in Crimea to positions deeper in the peninsula and to bases within Russian territory.
The story goes on
The apparent attack on the Saki airbase last week was the first in the occupied Crimea since its illegal annexation by Russian forces in 2014.
Although Ukraine did not immediately take public responsibility for the explosions at the base that its air force has celebrated Taking to social media, officials have privately admitted it was behind the blasts. Some reports suggest a long-range attack, while others suggest Ukrainian special forces were involved. However, Russia has attributed the blasts to an accidental munitions detonation and has sought to downplay the damage.
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