The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed two Russian warplanes in an overnight strike on a military airfield in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region – roughly 650 kilometers (400 miles) from the Ukrainian border – Ukrainian military officials said Monday, June 9.
The Savasleika airfield, the target of the attack, hosts MiG-31K fighter jets used to carry Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the other aircraft destroyed besides the MiG-31 was either a Su-30 or Su-34; the full extent of the damage caused is still being assessed.
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The strike came just one day after a major first for Ukraine’s air force. On June 7, a Ukrainian F-16 “Viper” fighter aircraft shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter-bomber over Russia’s Kursk region using a US-made AIM-120 AMRAAM missile.
The Ukrainian Air Force released video footage of the shoot-down on Sunday. The Russian pilot reportedly survived with unconfirmed reports suggesting the F-16 used in the mission had been supplied by the Netherlands.
Ukrainian officials said the strikes are aimed at reducing Russia’s ability to launch missile and air attacks against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure., with such operations targeting deep Russian territory expected to continue.
The hit on Savasleika follows Operation Spiderweb, which Ukraine says is its longest-range operation since the start of the war.
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On June 1, Ukrainian security services launched a coordinated drone attack on Russian airbases thousands of kilometers from the front line, reportedly damaging or destroying dozens of strategic aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers.
The operation, which took over a year to prepare, involved smuggling drones into Russian territory and launching them from truck-borne hidden platforms near the targeted bases.
Ukrainian officials claim the attacks destroyed a third of Russia’s strategic cruise missile-carrying bombers, causing up to $7 billion in damage. Russia confirmed fires at several bases but reported no casualties.
