Ukrainian SSU Drones Hit Russian Su-27 Fighters at Crimea’s Belbek Air Base
Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU) has carried out a precision drone strike on Russia’s Belbek military airfield in temporarily occupied Crimea, damaging two Su-27 fighter jets and disrupting air operations at the base.
The Gaze informs about it, citing a SSU’s post on social media.
According to the statement, long-range drones launched by its Alpha Special Operations Center struck the aircraft on the ground. One of the fighters was positioned on a taxiway, fully armed and prepared for a combat sortie, and was completely destroyed. The combined estimated value of the two jets is around $70 million.
The operation also reportedly damaged the air traffic control tower at Belbek, potentially complicating flight coordination and command functions at the airfield.
This marks the second successful Ukrainian strike on the facility in recent days. On December 18, SSU drones hit multiple high-value Russian assets at the same base, including two Nebo-SVU radar systems, a 92N6 radar associated with the S-400 Triumf air defense system, a Pantsir-S2 air defense unit, and a MiG-31 interceptor loaded with missiles.
“Strikes by the SSU on key military airfields, as well as the destruction of enemy aircraft and air defense systems in temporarily occupied Crimea, significantly reduce its military potential in the region. This systematic effort will continue,” the statement reads.
In parallel operations elsewhere, Ukraine’s Defense Forces recently struck a Russian patrol vessel of Project 22460 Okhotnik in the Caspian Sea near an offshore energy platform. A drilling platform at the Filanovsky oil and gas field, operated by Lukoil, was also hit. Ukrainian officials say the platform was used to support Russian military logistics.
As The Gaze previously reported, on November 29, Ukrainian naval drones severely damaged two sanctioned oil tankers belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in the Black Sea.
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