Ukrainian drones attack air base used by Russian bombers

The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented, but Russian military bloggers have confirmed the attack, although they also claimed that all Ukrainian drones were shot down.

“Ukrainian units are modernizing their drone tactics. This time, most of the drones flew at low altitude. However, this did not prevent us from destroying these flying objects and preventing virtually all damage on the ground,” Rybar told his 1.2 million Telegram subscribers.

The attack appears to mark a shift in Ukrainian drone tactics, possibly due to the importance of the target and its relative proximity to the war zone 240 kilometers away.

Ukrainian commanders have sent single drones or groups of up to three on missions deep inside Russia to attack airfields, refineries and nuclear radar stations, but Friday’s attack on the Morozovsk air base appears to adopt Russia’s swarm drone tactics.

The Morozovsk airbase is a key launch site for Russia’s Su-34 fighter jets, one of the Kremlin’s most advanced aircraft. It was previously attacked by smaller groups of Ukrainian drones in March and April, but reportedly with limited success.

This is also at least the third attack on Russian airfields in the last ten days. Last weekend, a Ukrainian drone destroyed a “next-generation stealth” fighter-bomber at an airfield on the Caspian Sea coast and also attempted to attack another air base in the North Caucasus.

Russian military bloggers complained that the Defense Ministry was not adequately protecting air bases. This accusation was repeated after the attack on the Morozovsk air base.