Suspected Ukrainian air base targeted by combined Russian missile and drone attack

On Friday morning, June 14, Russian forces launched another massive airstrike on Ukraine, firing ballistic missiles, dozens of drones, and Kh-101/Kh-55 missiles from at least five strategic bombers, targeting primarily Ukraine’s western regions.

The main target of the attack was Starokostiantyniv in the Khmelnytskyi region, where a huge Ukrainian air force base is believed to be located.

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The attack began at approximately 22:40 with the attack of Iranian Shahed combat drones, followed by the launch of cruise missiles, and ended at 04:43.

For the first time since the shooting down of a Russian Tu-22M3, the strategic bomber was deployed within range of Ukrainian air defense systems.

A little over an hour later, at 06:00, Starokostiantyniv was attacked with a Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

During the attack, the Ukrainian Air Force managed to intercept five out of seven missiles and 14 out of 17 drones. Air defenses in the Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Mylolaiv, Kharkiv and Odessa regions responded.

In total, the Russian armed forces attempted 31 air strikes, including:

10 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles were fired by TU-95MS strategic bombers in the Russian region of Saratov.
3 Iskander-M ballistic missiles were fired from Crimea and Krasnodar Region in Russia.
1 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missile launched from the airspace of the Tambov region in Russia.
17 Shahed-131/136 combat drones were launched from Yeisk, Russia.

To repel the attack, the Ukrainian defense forces deployed fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, mobile fire groups and electronic warfare equipment.

This is the second attack within a week, the previous one taking place on Wednesday, June 12.