Ukrainian defense forces struck inside Russian territory overnight on 25 November 2025, targeting the Taganrog-Yuzhny airfield and the adjoining Beriev aviation complex.The airfield is about 180 km from the frontline. It is located in Rostov Oblast, adjacent to Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast.
Ukraine strikes Soviet laser aircraft and bomber upgrade hub in Taganrog
The Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported the strike shortly after midnight. The main target was the Soviet-era A-60, a rare flying laboratory designed to test airborne laser weaponry. The aircraft, registration number RA-86879, was based on an Il-76MD transport plane and had been adapted to carry a megawatt-class laser system once intended for space deployment as part of the Skif-D (17F19D) project, Militarnyi noted. According to open-source analysis of footage published by Exilenova+, the plane was either seriously damaged or completely destroyed. The aircraft had remained in place for many years at the Taganrog-Yuzhny military airfield.
Eyewitness videos published by Exilenova+ and later geolocated by the Telegram channel Falcon Insight Map place the impact site at the Taganrog-Yuzhny airfield, specifically near the coordinates 47.201667, 38.898333.
Russian news Telegram channel Astra confirmed that a fire broke out near the runway following a drone strike. Citing its own OSINT analysis, Astra reported that flames erupted directly on or adjacent to the runway next to the Beriev facility. A clip shared by eyewitnesses was reportedly taken roughly two kilometers from the fire. The exact object burning was not officially confirmed by Russian authorities, but Astra noted that local residents reported a burning aircraft in the vicinity and speculated that it was the A-60.
Later, Astra analyzed another video showing a burning aircraft, stating it was recorded 700 to 800 meters from the blaze, from Sadovyi Lane, and confirmed that the burning plane was located at the Taganrog-Yuzhny airfield.
More videos show a fire burning inside a hangar used by the Beriev Aviation Scientific-Technical Complex (TANTK). That hangar, according to Exilenova+, is responsible for technical servicing and modernization of Tu-95MS strategic bombers into the upgraded Tu-95MSM variant. These bombers are capable of carrying additional Kh-101 cruise missiles, which are used in Russian strikes on Ukraine.
Exilenova+ also stated that the hangar hit during the attack may have had a Tu-95MS inside it at the time. The facility struck is located at 47.191667, 38.875556. According to documents from Russia’s Ministry of Defense cited by the channel, about $270 million was allocated for modernizing six Tu-95MS bombers. The upgrade program is executed by both the 360th Aircraft Repair Plant in Ryazan and the Taganrog aviation complex.
NASA FIRMS map shows fires at the airfield, premises of the Beriev aircraft company, and in the nearby neighborhood.
The Beriev plant is a key element of Russia’s military aviation industry and part of the state-owned United Aircraft Corporation under Rostec. The facility designs, manufactures, upgrades, and repairs amphibious aircraft and special-purpose aviation systems. It also services aircraft used by Russia’s naval aviation and long-range bomber forces. Its main testing base is the Taganrog-Yuzhny military airfield, which was one of the focal points of the 25 November attack.
Local authorities cited by Astra claimed that three people were killed and eight others injured in Rostov Oblast, ostensibly as a result of the overnight Ukrainian attacks. The Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+ shared videos of a fire in the neighborhood, stating it was caused by a direct hit of Russia's surface-to-air missile.
