Sky News spots concentration of Russian combat helicopters at Kursk airport: Satellite images
Illustrative photo: Russia redeploys Ka-52 helicopters to Kursk airport (Getty Images)
The Russian army has deployed a large number of combat aircraft to the Kursk airport, located a few kilometers from the city of Kursk, according to Sky News.
As noted by the agency, a satellite image of the airport taken back on July 22 shows no concentration of Russian combat aircraft. At that time, only two helicopters and five fighter jets were visible near the runway.
However, satellite images taken yesterday, August 14, reveal a radically different situation. The image shows 14 helicopters parked along the entire length of the airport, as well as four fighter jets.
"There's been a huge increase in helicopter deployments, from two Mi-24/35 Hind or Mi-8/17 Hip gunship/transport helicopters in July to fourteen helicopters in August, including potentially three Ka-52 Alligator gunships," Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, told the Sky News.
The journalists clarify that the satellite images are not detailed enough to determine which aircraft are at the Kursk airport.
The news agency suggests that such an accumulation of aircraft is part of Russia's response to the operation of Ukrainian defenders in the Kursk region.
What preceded it
Ukrainian soldiers are continuing their operation in the Kursk region. The fighting began last week.
Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that as of today, Ukrainian defenders control 82 settlements in the region. On Tuesday, they controlled 74.
Against this backdrop, Russia has decided to deploy reserves to the region to stop the Ukrainian offensive. However, the Ukrainian military continues to advance, with official information about this being released over the past few daysю
