Attacks on airfields deep inside Russian territory will deal a powerful psychological blow, senior Western officials said yesterday, noting that it means Moscow will have to consider more carefully how to protect its bombers.
A drone attack has sparked a fire at another Russian airport after Ukraine demonstrated a new ability to penetrate hundreds of kilometers deep into Russian airspace by attacking two Russian air force bases on Monday.
Officials in the Russian city of Kursk, located north of Ukraine, released photos of black smoke rising above the airport after the attack. The governor of that area said that a container with fuel caught fire, but that there were no victims.
Yesterday's attack came after Russia confirmed strikes deep inside its territory by Soviet-era drones - at Engels Air Force Base, located 600 kilometers from the nearest Ukrainian territory and home to Russia's fleet of strategic bombers, and a base in Ryazan, just hours away. drive from Moscow.
Senior Western officials, who wished to remain anonymous, told Reuters that these were the deepest attacks on Russian territory since the invasion began on February 24.
"If it really was them (Ukrainians), then it shows that they can act in Russia whenever they want, and that will deeply worry the Russians," one official told Reuters. "I think it's a blow in a psychological sense," he added. "Perhaps because of this, they will move the bombers to other locations," said the official. "In any case, this will undermine the belief of Russians that they are safe in their own country," he pointed out.
If Russia determines that the incidents were deliberate attacks, it will likely view them as one of the most strategically significant failures to protect its forces since the invasion of Ukraine began
The "New York Times" yesterday, citing a high-ranking Ukrainian official, announced that the drones that carried out the attacks on Monday were launched from Ukrainian territory and that at least one of the attacks was carried out with the help of special forces located near the base.
"If Russia determines that the incidents were deliberate attacks, it will likely consider them as one of the most strategically significant failures to protect its forces since the start of the invasion in Ukraine," the British Ministry of Defense stated yesterday.
Ukraine never publicly takes responsibility for attacks on Ukrainian territory. When asked about attacks on military bases, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov repeated the joke about careless cigarette consumption. "Russians often smoke in places where it is forbidden," he said.
Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, went even further, pointing out that Engels is the only Russian base fully equipped for the fleet of huge bombers used by Moscow to attack Ukraine.
"They will try to deploy strategic aircraft to other airports, but all this complicates the operation against Ukraine. Yesterday, thanks to their unsuccessful smoking, we achieved a great result", he said.
The damage to the planes also sparked an outcry among Russian military bloggers, whose social media posts can provide insight into Russia's mood toward the war.
"And I, a naive civilian fool, thought that planes were kept in concrete bunkers during the war, right?" written by Valdlen Tatarski. "It turns out that small drones, the danger of which has been neglected, can attack a strategic aircraft".
Western officials have also said that Ukraine's claims that it has shot down about 85 Russian missiles are credible, and that Moscow no longer has the Iranian drones it used to attack energy infrastructure, although it expects new supplies.
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