Overnight July 26th, Ukraine carried out a new attack on the russian Saky military airfield in the occupied Crimea. The strike likely involved ATACMS ballistic missiles, Crimean Wind reports on Telegram, adding photos and videos from the site.
The first messages about the attack were published around 3 AM local time. Unconfirmed data suggests 13 explosions heard by eyewitnesses, the missiles were seen flying near Dobrushyne, Yevpatoria, Novoozerne villages, and in the town of Saky. Explosions were also reported near Okunivka, and in Simferopol, unmanned aerial vehicles were also anticipated to strike Sevastopol. In addition, the Telegram community published footage of air defense operations near Yevpatoria.
Read more: Large Concentration of russian Su-30 Aircraft Found by Ukrainian Partisans at Airfield in Occupied Crimea
The strike on the Saky military airfield in Novofedorivka is most notable, though. Crimean Wind released a series of photographs and videos showing explosions in the area of this facility, fire trucks were seen moving out in towards the airfield at 03:37. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the fact of the attack: "Information on the results of the attack is being clarified."
Anonymous sources claim an ammunition warehouse was hit at the air base, and two soldiers injured. It is still unclear whether any aircraft was damaged. An air defense position near the airfield, located next to the village of Shovkovychne, was under attack, too: a radar station was allegedly destroyed there.
The russian-appointed governor of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov did not mention the incident in his morning briefings. Meanwhile, russian military blogger Fighterbomber hints that the intelligence data for the strike was provided to the Ukrainian side by a British RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft.
The Ukrainian General Staf confirms a strike (ATACMS) on the #Saky airfield in occupied Crimea last nightReported losses include the destruction of a radar installation (S-300/400) near Saky in #Shovkovychne and, potentially, one or more aircraft, one or more Russian pilots,… pic.twitter.com/Y9eWSagLh6 — OSINT (Uri Kikaski) (@UKikaski) July 26, 2024
Defense Express reminds: since 2014, the Saky airfield has been hosting the 43rd Independent Naval Attack Aviation Regiment equipped with Su-24M and Su-30SM aircraft as a permanent deployment air base. OSINT researchers from the Dnipro | OSINT with Harbuz community, at least 16 Su-30 and Su-24 aircraft were stationed there in May 2024, satellite images from that time confirmed the presence of nine Su-30s and five Su-24s. The author stressed that the aircraft were quite vulnerable due to the lack of shelters.
Previously, Ukraine had attempted strikes on this airfield. In January 2024, Storm Shadow cruise missiles hit the command post at the Saky airfield, within a broader campaign against russian communication nodes and military decision-making centers in Crimea, later confirmed by satellite imagery. Also, Ukraine managed to score a successful hit onto russian aircraft stationed at this base in August 2022, destroying nine military planes.
Read more: Satellite Imagery Validates Damage to russian Airbase in Temporarily Occupied Crimea
