Four Russian fighter-bombers were targeted in a Ukrainian drone strike hundreds of miles away from the frontline, according to Ukraine’s military.
The drones destroyed two Su-34 fighter jets and damaged two others following the strike in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast overnight Friday, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
Over the course of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian drone technology has fast developed into a cost effective way of taking out expensive Russian military assets and Kyiv’s report shows the latest stage of this campaign of hitting targets far from the frontline.
What To Know
The operation was carried out by the Special Forces and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in cooperation with other military units, according to the General Staff.
The statement said that two Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers have been destroyed and two others damaged at the Marinovka airfield over 560 miles southeast of Moscow in an operation carried out by long-range drones.
The attack also sparked a fire in the airport’s technical maintenance area used to prepare aircraft ready for missions.
Russian Su-34s are the main aircraft Russia uses to launch missile and bomb strikes on Ukrainian positions and settlements. As of Saturday, 37 Russian Su-34s and 158 aircraft in total had been destroyed or damaged since February 2022 according to Oryx, a website tracking war losses by using imagery as proof.
The latest strikes come as Russia steps up aerial attacks on Ukraine which said Moscow’s attacks had killed 10 people and injured at least 50 others on Friday.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported it had downed 21 out of the 23 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones and decoys.
But a Russian drone attack on the city of Odesa hit a high-rise building, killing a married couple and injuring at least 14 other people, according to local authorities.
Video on social media showed firefighters battling a blaze and residents trying to escape down the stairwell of the 21-story building.
Meanwhile, a Russian missile strike on the city of Samar in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast killed five people and injured at least 25 others, according to the regional governor Serhii Lysak.
What People Are Saying
In a statement, Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces “carried out a joint special operation that resulted in the destruction of two Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers and damage to two others at the Marinovka airfield.”
What Happens Next
As Russia continues with its strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, Kyiv will step up its drone production. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his video address on Friday that ramping up the financing and production of drones was a priority for Kyiv to defend the country following a meeting with his military chiefs.
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