A Ukrainian drone strike destroyed two Russian combat jets at an air base in Russia on Oct. 4, accounting for two of the three aircraft losses Russia suffered within a week, Britain’s Defence Intelligence said Friday.
The one-way attack drone struck Khanskaya air base, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Ukraine, destroying a Su-35S multirole fighter and a Su-34 fighter-bomber, according to the agency’s Oct. 16 intelligence update.
Commercial satellite imagery from Oct. 4 showed damage across the base. British intelligence said the attack destroyed the two aircraft and a building, cratered the parking apron and a taxiway, and destroyed one munitions depot while damaging another.
An annotated image released by the British government, using Airbus DS satellite imagery, marked the two destroyed aircraft and the building near the runway.
The Su-34, known by the NATO reporting name Fullback, is used in daily operations to launch glide munitions into Ukraine, the update said.
The assessment could not be independently verified.
Russia’s third aircraft loss came Sept. 29, when a Tu-95MS from its Long Range Aviation fleet crashed shortly after takeoff on a training flight in eastern Russia. The bomber, known by the NATO reporting name Bear H, suffered multiple engine failures before it went down, according to the update.
British intelligence described the Tu-95MS as a workhorse of Russia’s long-range aviation fleet. Russia has used the aircraft extensively to strike Ukraine during the war, which has “almost certainly” placed a significant maintenance burden on the fleet, the agency assessed.
All three aircraft types have taken part in Russian strikes against Ukraine. British intelligence said Russia has lost more than 100 fighter aircraft since the conflict began in February 2022.
