Ukraine strikes Russia’s Marinovka air base
The message to pull back comes drone and clear
A lot of things in Russia and the occupied territories went up in flames yesterday. The fuel depot in Proletarsk, which was hit by drones several days ago, is still burning. The Kremlin has given up — they’re not even trying to stop the fire.
One of the largest cargo ferries used by Russia to transport supplies to Crimea, the Conro Trader, was hit by Ukraine’s Neptune missile. It was likely carrying fuel at the time, causing it to burst into flames and sink.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, Spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, said, this “ferry is one of the most important chains of Russian military logistics for supplying the occupation forces, primarily with fuel and lubricants, but it also transported weapons, of course. Therefore, this is a legitimate target. And, accordingly, this should reduce the potential of our enemy’s capabilities in those locations where they are actively engaged in hostilities.”
Ukrainian military bloggers report that Russia used three ferries to transport goods across the Kerch Strait: the Avangard, the Slavyanin, and the Conro Trader.
- The Avangard was hit on May 30
- The Slavyanin on July 23
- The Conro Trader on August 22
The Russians weren’t transporting fuel and other supplies through the Crimean Bridge. They tried to secure their supply lines to Crimea by reducing their dependence on the road and rail bridge. They used these three ferries to move supplies. Two are now damaged, and the third, the most important one, has joined the search for the Russian flagship cruiser Moskva at the bottom of the sea.
But that’s not all. The real blow on August 22 came from a devastating attack on a Russian airbase near the city of Volgograd by Ukrainian drones.
The Marinovka airbase hosts the 11th Composite Aviation Regiment of the Russian Air Force, a unit with a long history dating back to 1942. As one of the most renowned regiments in the Russian Air Force, it has been well-equipped with weaponry. Reports suggest that the regiment had around 30 Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets.
The base’s location, east of Ukraine and just 300 km from the nearest frontline, makes it one of the most important airbases for Russia to conduct daily sorties. It’s one of the bases Ukraine could easily have knocked out with ATACMS missiles.
But they did not have permission to use ATACMS missiles, so they finally sent a pack of drones to the airbase. At least six fighter jets were destroyed or damaged. The Russians had built protective hangars to keep the jets safe, but the drones had enough payload to breach and destroy them.
Some military bloggers mentioned that the attack lasted for hours. If that’s true, it wouldn’t be the first time. Ukraine has been honing its skills in sending drones in streams. I’m still struggling to understand the logic, as sending them in a pack formation seems to make more sense. Perhaps they are sending multiple packs one after another. I am not very sure.
However, details are hard to come by, as video evidence of attacks inside Russia is rare. Most of the time, we only see the before-and-after images. But the strategy is effective, and I’ll keep an eye out to understand why Ukraine uses the drones in a stream approach.
I’m waiting for more details to emerge, but preliminary data suggests this was the largest drone attack by Ukraine against a military target inside Russia.
This is extremely bad news for Russia.
First, they couldn’t defend one of their important airfields against a known threat. Second, they have plenty of airfields within a 500 km range. Third, this isn’t even the full potential of Ukraine’s long-range capabilities. That day will come when Ukraine sends a large pack of drones toward a Russian asset and times their arrival with a small pack of Ukraine-manufactured long range Neptune missiles.
Ukraine’s deep-fire strategy has shifted into the next gear, but they have yet to hit their maximum delivery potential.
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