Panoramic photographs composed from the shots of the apron at Ivano-Frankivsk base with non-operational Mig-29s

(9-13) which were hit by the Russian morning strike on February 24, 2022. After this strike, supposedly executed by

the cruise missiles, six Mig-29 were hit. Ivano-Frankivsk is home of 114. BrTA (Tactical aviation brigade) equipped with

“twenty nines”.

Photo: author’s archive

some of the Ukrainian military airplanes

such as Su-25 or L-39 could have operated from the grass airfields (some sources

speculated that even Mig-29 partially operated from the grass airfield nevertheless

the truth is again that these claim cannot

be verified). Namely the helicopters could

have flown directly out of the improvised

camouflaged heliports almost anywhere

with the sufficient surface sturdiness for

example the earth strengthened with the

steel plates etc. So far there is not sufficient proof available as the Ukrainians themselves keep the “vow of silence” in order not

to offer any clues to the Russian attackers

as far as the exact locations are concerned

as it will result in the strikes against them.

Thanks to the aforementioned equipment relocation the expensive 3M14 Kalibr

(SS-N-30) cruise missiles and even more

expensive 9M723 tactical ballistic missiles

from the 9K720 Iskander-M (SS-26 Stone) system or airplane-launched winged

Kh-101 (AS-23 Kodiak) and Kh-555 (AS-22

Kluge) missiles were destroying on Ukrainian airports mostly the old and no longer

operational equipment which in fact was

set there on purpose as a dummy target.

Photo: author’s archive

HISTORY

Il-76MD 76322 was the first of a pair of the transport Ilyushins which were supposedly destroyed already on February 24 by the Russian attack on their base Melitopol in southern

Ukraine. Here as well the 25. OBrTrA (Transport air brigade) probably evacuated on time the remaining airworthy airplanes. In the case of Il-76, An-26 and An-32 the Ukrainian air

force chose very pragmatically to fly them to safety into western Europe where they successfully joined the effort to transport all necessary equipment for their own armed forces.

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INFO Eduard

June 2022