The Daily Populous Thursday August 15th, 2024 day edition
Authored by yahoo.com and submitted by Dept404

Ukraine appears to have just launched its largest attack on Russia's airbases as its invading forces push deeper into Kursk

Ukraine appears to have staged its largest attack on Russian airbases of the war overnight.

A Ukrainian official said Kyiv targeted multiple airfields, and Russia said it shot down 117 drones.

The aerial assault comes as Ukrainian forces continue to push deeper into Russia's Kursk region.

After years of fighting off Russia, Ukraine is suddenly throwing a lot back at it. Kyiv appears to have just carried out its largest attack on Russian military airbases of the war, and its forces continue to press forward with their shock invasion of Russia's Kursk region.

Russia's defense ministry said early Wednesday that its troops shot down 117 drones and four missiles launched overnight by Kyiv. Moscow claimed its air-defense systems destroyed projectiles over eight different regions, including border areas like Kursk.

Russia didn't say whether any of its airfields were hit, but an official in the Security Service of Ukraine told local media that long-range drones targeted and struck Russian airfields in Kursk, Voronezh, Savasleyka, and Borisoglebs.

An SBU source told state-run Ukrinform, Ukraine's national news agency, that Ukrainian forces "carried out the largest attack on Russian military airfields since the war began," adding that "it was a 'fun' night" at the airfields.

Business Insider could not immediately verify the claims from either side, and the SBU has not yet responded to requests for additional information.

As the targets were Russian airfields, the long-range strikes appear to reflect Ukraine's efforts to curb the Russian aerial threat, which includes going after Moscow's highly destructive glide bombs and the aircraft that drop them. These weapons have caused significant damage both on and off the battlefield.

While the extent of the damage across the different bases remains unclear, footage purportedly captured some direct hits at the airfields, including at Savasleyka. Satellite imagery of Borisoglebs also seemed to reveal some damage to facilities. In the video footage, defenders can be heard shooting at incoming threats.

Impressive footage of Ukrainian kamikaze UAV hitting Russia's Savasleyka Air Base in Nizhny Novgorod region earlier this morning. pic.twitter.com/5Rq4SPPQ5i — Clash Report (@clashreport) August 14, 2024

It still remains to be seen if any of the Russian aircraft were damaged or destroyed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alluded to the attacks on the airfields in his nightly address to the nation, expressing his gratitude to the SBU, the armed forces, and the military intelligence agency, also known as the HUR.

"Thank you for the accurate, skillful and effective strikes on Russian airfields," Zelenskyy said Wednesday, adding that "Ukrainian drones work exactly as they should."

Radio Svoboda obtained satellite imagery showing the aftermath of Ukrainian drone strikes on the Borisoglebsk Air Base in Voronezh Oblast of Russia on August 14.Two maintenance hangars on the territory of the air base were destroyed by the Ukrainians.Borisoglebsk is a… pic.twitter.com/hn1NhEMRXQ — Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (@Archer83Able) August 14, 2024

Despite the reach of Ukraine's long-range drones and its ability to launch complex attacks into Russia, Kyiv still argues that it is hamstrung by restrictions on using Western weapons to strike inside Russia and is lobbying for the US and its NATO allies to drop such limitations.

"There are things that cannot be done with drones alone," Zelenskyy said in his latest address. "We need other weapons — missile weapons. And we continue working with our partners on long-range decisions for Ukraine."

"These are forward-looking decisions for our victory," he said. "It has to be done."

The massive drone attack on the airbases notably came as the Ukrainian military incursion into Russia's Kursk region entered its ninth day.

Ukrainian servicemen operate an armored military vehicle in Ukraine's Sumy region on August 13. Photo by ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images

The assault began on August 6, when thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, accompanied by armored vehicles, poured across the border and advanced several miles into Russia. By Monday, Kyiv said that it had captured some 1,000 square kilometers, and by Tuesday, it said it controlled more than 70 settlements.

The Ukrainian offensive — described as the biggest attack on Russian soil by a foreign enemy since World War II — caught Moscow by surprise, and the intense fighting there has forced more than 100,000 civilians to flee the area.

As Moscow scrambles to respond to the shocking incursion, President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that the attack is "creating a real dilemma" for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Read the original article on Business Insider

earthforce_1 on August 15th, 2024 at 04:29 UTC »

I heard a joke supposedly going around in Kursk:

Putin is at a loss with his armies getting stomped in Kursk, and in desperation he summons the ghost of Stalin:

Stalin: Why have you summoned me?

Putin: Help - the NAZIs have returned to Kursk and my armies are getting crushed! What can I do?

Stalin: Do what I did in 1943. Send the best Ukrainian troops to Kursk and ask the US for weapons.

Fieos on August 15th, 2024 at 00:51 UTC »

Can you imagine the morale of an army that is finally going on the offensive after the years of travesty they've seen?

whiterice_343 on August 15th, 2024 at 00:08 UTC »

It would seem that the sacrifices of holding the line for two years by those brave soldiers bought enough time for the Ukrainian leadership to plan a successful breakthrough. What a wild turn of events.