The head of Ukrainian intelligence agency (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, told The War Zone that Ukraine carried out drone attacks on several Russian targets, including a signals intelligence center and airport near Moscow and an airbase in Rostov Oblast.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has been targeting Russia’s military bases as part of its broader strategy to disrupt Russian military operations and to weaken its military capabilities.
Budanov revealed to The War Zone that approximately 50 drones were used in the attacks, which also targeted the Ostafyevo airport in Moscow and the Millerovo air base in Rostov.
The extent of the damage at these locations remains unclear.
“We are checking now,” Budanov stated to the War Zone.
Russian officials, however, claim to have thwarted these attacks. The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Telegram that they destroyed 45 Ukrainian drones across various regions, including 11 over Moscow.
Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow’s mayor, described it as “one of the most large-scale attempts to attack the Russian capital” since the Russian war against Ukraine started.
The Moscow attack was part of a wider drone offensive. Bryansk and Tula oblasts also faced drone incursions, with 18 and 2 drones shot down, respectively.
The War Zone notes that Ostafyevo airport in Moscow serves multiple purposes for the Russian Ministry of Defense, including a strategic signals and communications mission, evidenced by the construction of massive circular antenna arrays in 2018.
This is not the first time Ostafyevo was targeted. In April, the HUR claimed to have set fire to a Russian Ka-32 medium transport helicopter at the airport.
In addition to these confirmed attacks, social media footage emerged showing an “unsuccessful drone strike” near the Olenya Air Base in Murmansk, home to Russian strategic bombers in the Arctic Circle, approximately 1,200 miles from Ukraine.
Related:
- Ukraine’s IT Army now aids drone strikes on Russian oil refineries
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- Ukraine strikes on Russian oil refiners successfully cripple Russian war machine, experts say
- Here is a map of all Ukraine’s 2023 drone strikes on Russian targets
