russia is constructing a new airfield directly within the country's territory — this fact was highlighted by OSINT researcher @RedIntelPanda on the X social media platform (formerly Twitter).
As noted, the facility itself is situated approximately 9 kilometers west of the village of Alexeyevka in the Belgorod Oblast, where a logistics center supports the russian military units. This is approximately 60-70 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
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"In July, 2023 a road was cut to the location, and by the start of winter grading for the runway appeared mostly complete," OSINT researcher wrote.
"After the winter thaw, work has resumed. On April 27, a base layer or paving itself is ongoing on the runway. Sentinel Hub measures the runway at about 1800 meters. It is not huge, but can support various types of aircraft. Here is where speculation begins," he added.
The researcher speculates that since Alexeyevka, near which this aerodrome is being built, falls within the so-called "danger zone" for civilian aircraft, it is quite likely to be a military airbase primarily intended for helicopters of the russian occupying forces, and possibly also for aircraft such as the An-26 or even the Su-25.
Regarding the new airbase, RedIntelPanda notes that at the end of last year, the enemy reduced the number of its helicopters at the airbase in Rovenki, located in the Belgorod Oblast.
Its use may not only be helicopters, however. This runway could support fixed-wing aircraft such as light transports and VIP (An-26, An-72) and even Su-25 attack jets.— redintelpanda (@RedIntelPanda) April 29, 2024
"If the helicopters at Rovenki forward base fell back to Buturlinovka air base, Voronezh region, it adds 150km to any mission toward Kupyansk direction of the front," OSINT researcher wrote.
However, while Alexeyevka is situated deeper, it is only 25 kilometers farther from the front line compared to Rovenki.
As Defense Express reported earlier, the SSU recently launched drone attacks on the russian airbase Kushchevskaya in the Krasnodar region. Additionally, Ukrainian forces have recently targeted an airbase in Dzhankoi.
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