August 21st in the morning, multiple russian media reported an attack attempted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Shaykovka airfield in the Kaluga region of russia. Some claim damage to an aircraft that "was not in use," others state the strike was unsuccessful.
The Ukrainian side, on the other hand, says at least one military plane was damaged. Andrii Yusov from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine in a comment to LIGA.net noted that "as in most cases, the russian regime is trying to conceal the real scale of losses and damage" and said the attack was coordinated with the GUR – Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Read more: The Aftermath of Attack on Soltsy Air Base Housing Kh-22 and Kh-32 Equipped Bombers Appeared on the Network
"There are people who accomplished assigned tasks in coordination with the GUR. [They] came from the central russia, did the job, and successfully returned back in order," Yusov said and added the intelligence would keep carrying out various tasks, including the ones on the russian territory.
The Shaykovka air base is one of those hosting Tu-22M3 strategic bombers. This type of aircraft can take aboard Kh-22 missiles and is frequently used when russia launches aerial strikes against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
The August 21st attack on Shaykovka comes second after a drone strike on the Soltsy air base two days prior, on August 19th. The images from the site published the other day indicate one Tu-22M3 destroyed beyond repair at Soltsy.
The details of the new attempt are scarce. Sources in russia mentioned it was a suicide drone. If those episodes are connected, it might become an unprecedented case of two strategic aircraft in a row struck down with simplistic copter drones.
And the reason why the unknown UAVs manage to get past air base defenses has already been suggested by the russians themselves – since all the security had been suspended from their duties and sent to the frontlines.
Read more: Tu-22M3 Lost Because of All Airfield Security Personnel Sent to Frontline, russian Sources Say
