Ukraine’s Triple: Hits Russian Airbases in Engels , Morozovsk and Yeysk
More than 60 explosions have been reported in Morozovsk, the base of the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment, which operates Su-34 aircraft.
Last night, Ukraine launched a massive attack on three airbases located inside Russia. Details of the damage will remain somewhat inconclusive until open-source researchers start digging into satellite images and publish their results. However, the focal point of the attack, the Morozovsk air base in the Rostov region, had around 60 Ukrainian drones converging on it. Video footage shows Russian air defense scrambling to shoot down the drones, while some drones manage to evade and explode.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, they successfully intercepted 44 drones at Morozovsk. This airfield holds significant importance as it is home to the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment, estimated to hold around 36 Su-34s, making it the largest regiment with this type of aircraft.
The 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment operates three squadrons of Su-34 fighter jets. Situated strategically within Russia, these Su-34 jets would have regularly participated in dropping bombs over the eastern frontline, as well as targeting Ukraine’s urban centers with their airstrikes.
The Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine frequently releases the names of Russian pilots involved in bombing civilian target. They meticulously document this evidence with the hope that the country Ukraine once trusted, as affirmed by the Budapest Memorandum promising to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty, will one day deliver justice.
The list published by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine consistently includes the names of pilots from the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment. Given the base’s location to the east of Ukraine, I infer that this regiment is responsible for covering the eastern frontline of Ukraine as well as destroying Kharkiv city.
The Russians are unlikely to fly their jets all the way from Crimea to Kharkiv. It’s more probable that those jets were operating from the Morozovsk air base.
Ukraine generally keeps its mouth shut regarding attacks inside Russia and we all know why that had been the case.
But they have stopped that practice.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) took credit for the attack:
An overnight attack against the Russian Morozovsk airbase on April 5 was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in cooperation with Ukraine’s military, sources familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent.
Su-24, Su-24M, and Su-34 tactical bombers were based at the airfield, the source said. Russia uses these aircraft to drop aerial bombs on Ukrainian military positions and Ukrainian front-line cities, according to the source.
At least six military aircraft were reportedly destroyed, and another eight were damaged. Furthermore, about 20 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded, the source said.
“This is an important special operation that will significantly reduce the combat potential of the (Russian forces),” the source commented
The loss of 13 jets in a single night will significantly affect Russia’s ability to carry out frontline devastation. It’s important to remember that Russia had already lost 13 fighter jets, all destroyed, back in February of this year.
Things slowed down a bit in March, possibly due to Ukraine’s decision to move its frontline Patriot air defense system further back to safeguard its cities, or perhaps to mitigate the depletion of their air-defense missile stockpile. I’m uncertain of the exact reason. However, the intensity of Russian fighter jet destruction notably decreased in March compared to February, though the Russians continued their frontlin aerial bombardment using fighter jets.
That means it was Ukraine that took the foot off the pedal. However, they have since resumed their activities, now leveraging their expanding arsenal of drones to target Russian airbases within Russia.
A prominent Ukrainian military blogger reported that one of the drones that attacked Morozovsk air base in Russia had its speaker turned on:
The music you hear hasn’t been added to the video, it is the drone with a speaker playing the German/Breton drinking song “Was wollen wir trinken” (what do we want to drink).
Don’t know who had this idea but let him know that I owe him a drink.
This Airbase was in reach for HIMARS
If the United States had provided ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment would have likely evacuated Morozovsk air base long ago. Unfortunately, it become a safe parking space for them. The Russian air force’s arrogance is evident as they openly park their aircraft there.
With the United States publicly announcing its lack of support for Ukraine’s attacks inside Russia, it’s not surprising that such actions have been taken.
It’s fine if the United States holds that opinion, but the least they could do is privately inform Ukraine of their lack of support for attacks inside Russia and leave it at that. Keeping such discussions confidential would be more appropriate. There’s no necessity to make a public announcement. If reporters inquire, it would suffice to say, “We have nothing further to disclose at this time.” Using the media to convey messages to the Kremlin should cease.
It is, at the very least, amateurish.
Ukraine’s drone attacks are escalating and they are nicely mixing it up
There has been a marked improvement in the size, scale, and reach of Ukrainian drones. Previously, most of their attacks were confined to Crimea. However, they have since begun targeting Russia’s export terminals located in the westernmost parts of Russia.
The Ust-Luga complex, situated on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km west of St. Petersburg, which used to ship oil and gas products to international markets, was attacked on January 21. This was quickly followed by a failed attack on a privately-owned Petersburg Oil Terminal.
Following that, Ukraine proceeded to attack multiple oil refiners in mid-March. One refinery was targeted, followed by another. The regular salvos resulted in a reduction of Russia’s oil refining capacity by more than ten percent. Additionally, at some point in the middle, they also attacked the A50 repair facility in the Rostov region.
On April 2nd, they launched their deepest drone attack ever in Tatarstan when they targeted Russia’s Shahed drone manufacturing facility. A nearby refining facility also came under attack.
Last night, Ukraine went after three Russian airfields.
Am I confusing you with this? I hope I did.
If I am, then consider the confusion of the Russians. It’s all over the place. The only constant in all of this is that all the locations are inside Russia, and Ukraine is showing no signs of relenting.
I am still a bit surprised that we are still only seeing waves of fewer than 100 drones in a single salvo. Forty to sixty drones seem to be the range when Ukraine goes after a high-value target. Perhaps this is because they are getting through and these attacks are successful. If the Russians respond better and start mitigating the impact of the Ukrainian attacks, then Ukraine might increase the volume to counter their response.
But the Russians are never going to find a proper answer to the questions posed by the Ukrainians.
Similarly, Ukraine does not have a proper answer to the glide bomb question posed by the Russians.
Well, actually, they do.
The answer is more Patriot systems to deter the Russian fighter jets from entering the occupied territory. But the nations that have them will not provide them to Ukraine. So, Ukraine does not have the means to stop the Russians fighter jets from operating freely inside the occupied territory. That means Ukraine needs to learn to live with Russian glide bombs destroying their frontline positions.
Similarly, the Russians do not have the resources to stop Ukraine’s escalating drone attacks. The master de-escalators in the Biden administration, by withholding crucial weapons from Ukraine, have, in fact, achieved the exact opposite.
They have escalated this war to the next level.
And they have done the exact same thing in Israel as well. Instead of de-escalating the situation, their inability to control the Netanyahu government has only escalated the conflict.
They say Putin has a strategy of “escalate to de-escalate.”
President Biden’s team has the exact opposite strategy, which is “de-escalate to escalate.” President Biden’s national security team needs to go. They have not only made a mess of America’s position in the world, but they also lack clarity on what actions to take and when, as well as what actions to avoid.
