Ukraine hits 4 Russian airbases in largest such attack, source says

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Ukrainian long-range drones hit four Russian airbases overnight on Aug. 14 in the largest attack on airfields in the war, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent.

Earlier the same day, Russia claimed it had downed over 110 Ukrainian drones in a massive strike, with local Telegram channels reporting explosions at the Savasleyka, Borisoglebsk, and Voronezh's Baltimore airbases.

0:00 / 1× Purported footage of a drone flying over Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast on Aug. 14, 2024. (Astra/Telegram)

The SBU source confirmed the attacks against the three aforementioned airbases and said an airbase in Kursk had also been targeted. Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk Oblast last week, marking the first instance of Ukrainian regular troops entering Russian soil during the war.

The large-scale drone attack was carried out by the SBU in cooperation with the Air Force, Special Operation Forces, Unmanned Systems Forces, and military intelligence agency (HUR), the source revealed to the Kyiv Independent.

The goal was to prevent Russia from using the airbases to strike Ukrainian military positions and settlements with KAB bombs. The consequences of the attacks are being determined, the source added.

"We are waiting for satellite photos of destroyed Russian fighters and warehouses," the source said.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

Russian Telegram channels reported 10 explosions at the Savasleyka airbase in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, which hosts Kinzhal missile carriers, MiG-31K.

0:00 / 1× Purported footage of a live fire in the Russian town Borisoglebsk in Voronezh Oblast overnight on Aug. 14, 2024. (Astra/Telegram)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published NASA satellite imagery that seems to confirm fires near the Savasleyka and Baltimore airbases. Russian Telegram channels also shared multiple videos capturing flying drones and air defense fire in Voronezh and Nizhny Novgorod oblasts.

The village of Savasleyka is located some 650 kilometers (400 miles) from the border with Ukraine, while Baltimore and Borisoglebsk in Voronezh Oblast lie 180 and 260 kilometers (110 and 160 miles) from the Ukrainian border, respectively.

The Kursk airfield, also known as Khalino Airbase, hosts MiG-29 fighter jets and lies around 95 kilometers (60 miles) from Ukraine.

"The SBU continues to methodically weaken the Air Force component of the Russian military machine," the source said.

Ukraine has carried out a number of strikes against airbases in an effort to weaken the more powerful Russian Air Force. An attack against an airbase in Lipetsk Oblast on Aug. 9 destroyed more than 700 bombs, a Ukrainian intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.