Satellite images of Luhansk airport after ATACMS strike appear
ATACMS missile (Photo: sill-www.army.mil)
On October 17, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched long-range ATACMS missiles at the temporarily occupied Luhansk International Airport, causing damage visible in satellite images, according to reports according to Schemes.
Damage at the airport was documented by the company Planet Labs. The first photo was taken on August 19, and the second on October 18. The latest image shows scorched traces and destruction.
Luhansk International Airport after an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (Photo: Schemes/Planet Labs)
According to the Planet Labs images, which were published by the founder of the Intelligence Insight community, a minimum of five helicopters, including several identifiable Ka-52s, were damaged at the airbase near Luhansk.
Assessing the extent of damage to each aircraft is difficult because the ATACMS cassette elements contain relatively miniature M74 submunitions, each with a diameter of 6 cm and a weight of 600 grams. However, it is unlikely that all aircraft are in flying condition.
The images also indicate that some machines are missing rotor blades, and traces of fuel leakage are observed.
ATACMS in Ukraine
On October 17, the Ukrainian military confirmed strikes on Russian airfields in the temporarily occupied cities of Luhansk and Berdyansk.
Satellite images of Berdyansk airfield after the ATACMS strike appeared on social media yesterday.
The Washington Post reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces used long-range ATACMS missiles for the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his evening address, confirmed the use of ATACMS in Ukraine. The White House also officially approved the transfer of missiles.
The media reported that Ukraine received fewer than a dozen (12) long-range ATACMS missiles from the United States. Yesterday, The New York Times sources stated that the U.S. handed over approximately 20 such missiles.
