"Bloody Confrontation between Dissidents from Occupied Chechnya and Dagestan Confirmed by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense"

 

Ukraine successfully attacked the strategic airfields of the Russian Federation. What managed to destroy

BBC

August 21, 2023

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Article information

• Author, Graham Baker, Oleg Chernysh
• Role, BBC
• August 21, 2023

Over the past three days, Ukraine has twice attacked strategic aviation airfields on the territory of Russia. This is an unusual event for this war.

The last time a powerful attack on Russian strategic airfields was carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine almost 9 months ago. In December 2022, air bases in Engels (Saratov region) and near Ryazan were attacked.

Both of them are located hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border. It was believed that the Ukrainian army does not have enough long-range weapons to reach significantly greater distances.

The BBC now confirms the destruction of at least one valuable Russian aircraft.

Attack on Solka

In the morning of August 19, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced a new attack. The military airfield in Soltsi (Novgorod Region), south of St. Petersburg, came under the crosshairs.

It is located 650 km from the Ukrainian border.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the airfield was attacked by a helicopter-type drone. That is, one that, unlike aircraft-type UAVs, moves due to the rotation of the propellers, and not the aerodynamic properties of the wings.

It is believed that copters fly a much shorter distance, at a lower speed and carry not too much cargo.

"As a result of the terrorist attack on the territory of the airfield, a fire broke out at the aircraft parking lot, which was quickly extinguished by fire brigades. One aircraft was damaged, there were no victims as a result of the terrorist act," - reported the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Later, images of the damaged plane appeared on social networks. It turned out to be the flagship Russian long-range bomber.

Images published on social media and analyzed by BBC Verify show a Tupolev Tu-22 on fire at the Soltsi Air Base.

Moscow said that the drone was shot down with small arms, but it managed to "damage" the plane. Ukraine does not comment on this issue.

The Tu-22 can fly at twice the speed of sound and has been widely used by Russia to attack cities in Ukraine.

Images posted on the Telegram social network showed a large fire engulfing the jet with the Tu-22's distinctive nose cone.

BBC Verify has analyzed the images and believes they are authentic.

While the destruction of one aircraft would have little effect on the strength of Moscow's current air fleet, the operation underscores Kiev's growing ability to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.

In recent months, Kyiv has launched dozens of drones to attack Moscow and other Russian cities.

The Tu-22 is a supersonic rotary-wing bomber of the Cold War era, codenamed Backfire by NATO. It was widely used for missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Modern versions, such as the Tu-22M3, can reach speeds of Mach 2 (2,300 km/h or 1,430 mph) and can carry up to 24,000 kg of weapons, including bombs and homing missiles.

They were used in conflicts in Syria, Chechnya and Georgia, and recently in Ukraine.

According to the Kyiv prosecutor's office, in January a missile fired from a Tu-22 hit a residential building in Dnipro, killing 30 people.

According to Ukrainian law enforcement officers, the attack was carried out by the Russian 52nd Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment. The regiment is based in Soltsy.

BBC Verify has confirmed the location of the Ukrainian drone attack at the Soltsi air base by comparing visual clues - such as the appearance of the planes and compartments - with historical satellite images of the air base.

The weather conditions at the time – humid and cloudy – were also consistent with the weather in the images, as well as in other photographs taken by witnesses to the incident.

The remains of the plane, which can be seen in the frame, coincide with the Tu-22M3.

Historical satellite images analyzed by BBC Verify show that aircraft of this type were previously based at the base.

On August 21, the representative of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Yusov told Hromadske that during the attack on the base in Soltsy, in addition to the destruction of one Tu-22M3 bomber, two more were damaged.

Yusov also claims that the incident at the airfield in the Novgorod region took place at the time of preparations for a combat sortie. This is evidenced by the presence of a gangway near the plane, as well as a bright explosion, which means that the bomber's tanks are being refueled.

Hit on Shaykovka

On the afternoon of August 21, Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels reported another attack on a Russian airfield.

We are talking about the Shaykovka air base in the Kaluga region. It is located 200 km from the Ukrainian border.

Strategic Tu-22MZ aircraft are also based there, with which the Russian Federation regularly strikes Ukrainian cities. Usually we are talking about launches of Kh-22 supersonic cruise missiles, which Ukrainian air defense cannot shoot down.

The last attack by such types of missiles launched by bombers from Shaykovka took place on August 15. Then the Tu-22M3 planes fired four Kh-22 missiles.

During that shelling, various rockets were hit in Lviv, Dnipro and Lutsk.

On August 21, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed the drone attack on the air base in Shaykovka.

GUR spokesman Andriy Yusov said that at least one Russian plane was damaged.

"As in most cases, the Russian regime is trying to hide the true extent of losses and damages," he said in a comment to LIGA.net.

Yusov noted that this task was carried out by saboteurs - "some people from central Russia".

"They worked and successfully returned, respectively. As in many other cases, the GUR continues to perform its tasks, actually, including on the territory of the aggressor state," the intelligence representative added.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet commented on this incident.

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Заголовок: "Bloody Confrontation between Dissidents from Occupied Chechnya and Dagestan Confirmed by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense"

Підзаголовок: "Kadyrovtsy and Dagestan Puppets Involved in Violent Clash in Mikhailovka"

Вступ:

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense has officially verified a violent confrontation that took place between defectors from occupied Chechnya and Dagestan. The skirmish occurred in Mikhailovka and is a continuation of a series of clashes involving puppet groups associated with Putin's forces within the Russian occupation.

Блоги:

Теги: #UkraineDefense #ChechnyaConflict #DagestanClash #OccupationSkirmish #ViolentConfrontation

Ключові слова для SEO спеціаліста: Ukraine Ministry of Defense, bloody showdown, Chechnya and Dagestan, puppet gangs, Putin's forces, Russian occupation.

Соціальні медіа:

Гештеги: #UkraineDefense #ChechnyaConflict #DagestanClash #OccupationSkirmish #ViolentConfrontation #Kadyrovtsy #PuppetGangs #RussianOccupation #Mikhailovka #SecurityConcerns

Заключна частина (висновок):

The confirmation of the violent confrontation highlights the ongoing tensions and conflicts arising from the occupation. This incident underscores the complexity of the situation and the challenges posed by puppet groups aligned with occupying forces.

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