On April 27, 2024, Interfax stated that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to strike Kushchyovskaya airfield and the Ilsky and Slavyansk oil refineries in Krasnodar region. In total, the russian MOD reportedly downed 66 UAVs, illustrating the scale of the attack, according to the UK Defense Intelligence.
The Kushchyovskaya airfield hosts a number of russian fighter jets, including the Su-34 and Su-35S aircraft. These are used daily in strike missions against Ukrainian frontline positions, including the heavy use of glide bombs. Open source videos show several glide bomb kits destroyed in a storage location at the airfield.
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Russian fighters, from the Kushchyovskaya airfield and a number of other air bases, typically conduct 100 to 150 sorties per day, a significant percentage of those launching munitions all along the frontlines as russia attempts to force breakthroughs through sheer firepower.
Ukraine’s ability to disrupt russian tactical air, particularly glide bomb usage, is key to the wider defense of the frontlines. This successful strike is likely to force further russian dispersals of fighters as well as reallocation of air defense assets to plug gaps.
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