UK Intelligence outlines impact of successful Ukrainian strikes on Russian airbases
Recently, Ukraine has launched a series of successful strikes on Russian air bases from which drones were launched. For some time, Russia will have to reduce the number of launches, according to the UK Ministry of Defense.
As Ukraine has dealt with Russia's plans to establish control of the airspace over Ukraine, Russia has been limited in its ability to use its substantial force of fast jets and bombers.
To overcome this disadvantage, Russia has come to rely heavily on the widespread use of relatively inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They have been used to interfere with Ukrainian air defenses and attack targets, both military and civilian, beyond the range of its artillery.
On 21 June, the Ukrainian Navy and the Security Service of Ukraine reported that they had struck the 726th Russian air defense training center at Yeysk airfield, Russia. This base is one of at least five from which Russia has conducted UAV strikes in Ukraine. The strike reportedly destroyed 120 UAVs of various types and injured 9 people.
According to UK intelligence, in the short term, these strikes will lead to some disruption of Russia's ability to use UAVs to strike targets deep inside Ukraine from these locations.
"It is highly likely that, in the short term, these strikes will cause some disruption to Russia's ability to use UAVs to strike targets deep within Ukrainian territory from these locations. There is a realistic possibility that Russia will disperse its UAV operations to less vulnerable bases and hence the impact will likely be temporary. It is likely that Ukraine will exploit its recent successes and continue with its counter-UAV campaign to the detriment of Russia," the UK Ministry of Defense says.
Ukrainian strikes on Russian air bases
On 21 June, storage and training facilities for Shahed-type kamikaze drones were attacked in the city of Yeysk in the Krasnodar Krai of the Russian Federation. A total of 120 Russian drones of various types were destroyed.
In addition, on 25 June, a fire broke out near Cape Chauda in the occupied Crimea. The place where Ukraine launched the Shahed drones caught fire.