The effective strike on the russian Engels airbase on the night of Thursday, March 20, was officially confirmed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The post indicates that it was carried out by the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
"Fires, explosions, and secondary detonation of ammunition were recorded in the vicinity of the airfield," the post states, ultimately confirming the assumption that the strike hit the storage location of the Kh-101 and Kh-555 cruise missiles.
Read more: What the Deployment of Su-34, Su-25 Aircraft to Engels Air Base Might Imply
Units of @SOF_UKR, in coordination with @ServiceSsu, carried out a strike on the Engels airfield in russia’s Saratov region on the night of March 20—@GeneralStaffUA reports.Fires, explosions, and secondary detonation of ammunition were recorded in the vicinity of the airfield.… pic.twitter.com/OC80RgRPVw— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 20, 2025
At the same time, an analysis of previous satellite images allows us to confidently say that cruise missiles were indeed stored in the open at Engels airbase. In particular, a publicly available image dated August 2024 shows work on preparing such cruise missiles.
The image shows a truck and a mobile crane on the western site, next to the transport containers. It is also clear that one of the cruise missiles has already been unloaded and is on a transport trolley, and another container is open while the process of unloading the second missile has begun.
It is unlikely that the russians store their cruise missiles together with warheads. In any case, they conduct pre-launch preparation of missiles before installing them on aircraft. Apparently, the direct maintenance of cruise missiles takes place in easily assembled hangars, but the storage and equipment of warheads are in protected structures.
Considering that the official report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine does not mention the defeat of cruise missiles, it is worth noting that there are two separate sites for storing ammunition at the Engels airbase, which, although located next to each other, can be intended for storing different types of ammunition and missiles.
The storage of characteristic transport containers for cruise missiles and the process of their maintenance are also noted on the eastern site. But most of the caponiers at this airbase are occupied by other boxes. These may be aerial bombs, but the russian Aerospace Forces consider all available Tu-160 and Tu-95MS exclusively as missile carriers, which of course does not prevent them from keeping aerial bombs at the airbase for possible use from other types of aircraft.
In any case, the result of the detonation of aerial ammunition is perfectly demonstrated by the video that was shot by an observer located in the dacha village closest to the airfield.
Defense Express reported earlier, that New Satellite Images Allowed Counting russia’s Tu-22M3, Tu-95MS, Tu-160 Bombers at Olenya and Engels Airbases.
Read more: Fuel Destroyed by AFU Near Engels Airfield Could Provide 900 Combat Missions for Tu-22M3 Strategic Bombers
