On August 4, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) mobilized forces to attack a Russian airport in Saky, on the Crimean Peninsula. Accordingly, the five fighter jets that Russia often uses for combat are believed to have been hit.
According to SBU, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) destroyed one Su-30SM fighter jet, damaged another and hit three Su-24. The attack also targeted an air weapons depot at this base.
The Su-30SM is a Russian-developed, two-seat, two-seat multi-purpose fighter that began production in the early 2010s, while the Su-24 is a Soviet-developed attack bombing aircraft that began production in the early 1970s.
The Saky air base played an important role in Russia's military operations in the Black Sea, providing fire support to ground forces in a special military campaign in Ukraine.
The aircraft here are also used for patrolling, radar monitoring, target guidance and long-range aircraft escorting missions.
However, Russia has not commented on the incident.
In June, Ukraine also used UAVs to attack a series of other military airports in Russian territory, in a campaign called Spiderweb.
This is considered the largest UAV airstrike that Ukraine has deployed since the conflict with Russia broke out in 2022. At the time, Ukraine claimed that the operation damaged 41 Russian military aircraft.
