Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian Su-34 fighter bomber in Russia’s Kursk Oblast overnight into 14 August, according to a statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“On the territory of Kursk Oblast (Russian Federation), during the execution of a combat mission, the forces and means of the anti-aircraft missile troops of the Air Force of Ukraine’s Armed Forces destroyed a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber,” the General Staff reported.
This development comes amid ongoing Ukrainian military operations in Russian territory. Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, recently claimed that Ukrainian forces have taken control of 1,000 square kilometers of Russian land. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared a video on social media in which Syrskyi stated that Ukrainian forces now control 74 settlements in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. According to the geolocated footage, ISW reported that Ukraine controls about 41 settlements in the region.
In response to the Ukrainian incursion, Russia’s Belgorod Oblast has introduced a state of emergency at the regional level. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has indicated plans to escalate this to a federal-level state of emergency.
The destruction of the Su-34 follows reports of explosions at a military airfield in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalists published a NASA satellite image showing a fire near the Savasleyka airfield after a nighttime drone attack. This airfield is known to host MiG-31K fighters capable of carrying Kinzhal missiles.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported a large-scale drone attack on military targets within Russian territory overnight into 14 August, claiming to have intercepted over 100 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). According to Russian officials, about 17 drones were shot down over Belgorod, 11 over Nizhny Novgorod, nine over Volgograd, three over Bryansk, two over Orel, and one over Rostov Oblasts.
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