Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) conducts successful assault on Saki military airfield in occupied Crimea, inflicting significant damage and casualties.
Kyiv, Ukraine, September 21, 2023: The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has reported a successful operation against the Saki military airfield in occupied Crimea, resulting in extensive damage to aircraft and critical equipment, as well as the loss of at least 30 Russian soldiers’ lives.
According to an SBU insider who disclosed details to a reliable media outlet, Ukrainian drones played a pivotal role in overwhelming Russian air defenses, creating openings that Neptune missiles exploited during the assault.
At the time of the attack, the Saki military airfield housed at least 12 Su-24 and Su-30 combat aircraft, alongside Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and gun systems, and a training facility for operators of the Iranian Mohajer-6 UAV. Although the source did not provide specific details regarding the extent of damage inflicted, they did confirm reports of “serious destruction and losses,” with claims of at least 30 Russian soldiers killed.
The security service insider also shed light on the role of the Mohajer-6 UAV in Russian air attacks, describing them as coordinating drones for both air assaults and combat strikes.
Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, corroborated some of the information provided by the SBU.
In a separate development, SBU sources reported that a Ukrainian missile strike in occupied Crimea on the preceding Wednesday had successfully targeted a command post of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, where several Russian commanders were located.
Ukraine’s military intelligence attributed the resulting consternation among Russian officials to the fact that the base housed so-called “doomsday planes.” The strike occurred after the SBU verified intelligence indicating the presence of enemy fleet commanders at the military installation.
Andrii Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), confirmed that Ukrainian missiles also struck a target near the Belbek airfield, located in proximity to Sevastopol.
In other developments earlier in the week, Kyiv announced that two Russian planes and a helicopter had sustained “significant damage” in an attack carried out by “unknown saboteurs” at one of the Kremlin’s primary military airfields, situated 30 kilometers northeast of Moscow.
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The Directorate of Military Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) revealed in a Telegram post that the operation, which occurred on Monday at the Chkalovsky Air Base, had caused considerable consternation within higher military circles. The “unknown saboteurs” reportedly planted explosives and detonated AN-148 and IL-20 aircraft, both belonging to the 354th special purpose aviation regiment, as well as the MI-28N “Havoc” helicopter, which had been actively involved in intercepting attack drones over the Moscow region.
