Ukrainian security services have stepped up drone and sabotage operations against Russian fighter jets and submarines this month, which analysts see as one way to counter constant Russian missile attacks on cities and energy infrastructure.
Ukraine has used long-range drones to attack Russian airfields in occupied Crimea and southern Russia over the past three weeks, shooting down several attack planes.
Two Russian Su-30 fighter jets successfully attacked Lipetsk airfield in western Russia on Saturday night, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Service.
We cannot independently verify the extent of the damage. The Russian military has not officially commented on the incident.
“The planning of the special operation at the airfield near Lipetsk took two weeks,” defense intelligence officials said, adding that Russian patrols at the base were monitored and the saboteurs left the base “unhindered.”
A Russian base in Crimea was also attacked this month. On the same night as the Lipetsk operation, long-range drones attacked two Su-27 aircraft in Belbek, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which provided images of the operation.
“One of the aircraft was on the runway with a full combat load and ready for a combat flight, but it was destroyed,” the SBU said.
Modern versions of the Su-27 can carry guided bombs and have caused extensive damage in Ukraine.
Belbek was attacked twice within days, suggesting that Ukraine is seeking new ways to evade and destroy Russian air defenses. The SBU claimed to have destroyed the base’s radar equipment and air defense systems on December 18, making it even more vulnerable to subsequent attacks.
According to the SBU, a MiG-31 aircraft with a full combat load was destroyed in the same raid.
“Ukrainian missiles and drones are wiping out the Russian Navy’s Black Sea fighter and bomber regiments,” analyst David Ax said in response to an attack on another Crimean airfield (Seiki) at the beginning of the month.
“The steady attrition of Russian fighters based in Crimea highlights the superiority of Ukraine’s deep strike drone force,” Ax noted on his Trench Art blog.
The Saki attack destroyed a Su-24, and analysts say the total number of fighter jets based at the base is now less than half of what it would be in 2022.
At about the same time, a Russian MiG-29 was attacked at Crimea’s Katya airfield, 32 miles south of Saki, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense. Although it appears to be an act of sabotage rather than a drone attack, it indicates intelligence-led planning and execution.
The Su-30 is still in production, but the mainstay of Russian combat aviation, the Su-24, is not.
Russian aircraft are not the only targets of Ukrainian security services. A week ago, maritime drones were involved in an attack on a Russian submarine base in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
“The submarine sustained significant damage and was effectively rendered inoperable,” the SBU claimed.
The Kilo-class submarine was one of several used to fire Kalibr cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities. Satellite images show the submarine is motionless but still afloat, but it is unclear whether it is operational.
Russia still has hundreds of attack planes, some of them in storage, but for Ukrainian security services, each attack means one less aircraft to launch missiles or drop bombs on Ukrainian positions and infrastructure. The same applies to the decline in the inventory of attack submarines in the Black Sea.
