Aerial War in Ukraine - Russian Airports Under Fire
During the monitored period from May 1 to May 31, the Russians attempted to open a new front in the Kharkiv area. It ended as it always does. Meanwhile, Ukraine intensified its campaign against Russian airports. The targets included air defense systems, radars, and bomb and fuel depots. It seems they are preparing the ground for the anticipated deployment of F-16 fighters.
Miro Barič
Russian Airports Under Fire
The offensive against the Kharkiv region
began on Friday, May 10. The Russians gathered
around 50,000 soldiers for it. The Ukrainians saw
this buildup of forces at their borders but had
limited options to counter them because the West
only allowed the use of their weapons under the
condition they are deployed within the Ukrainian
territory.
At first, the Russians advanced quickly,
causing alarmed comments in the Western press
and criticism of why Ukraine had not fortified
this area. Well, try building fortifications right at
the border under the watch of Russian artillery...
In reality, the first Ukrainian line was about
10 km from the border, and the Russians never
crossed it. The border zone was a kind of gray
area patrolled only by small units.
The Russian advance focused on the town of
Vovchansk northeast of Kharkiv and the village
of Lypci, located a bit further west. The plan was
to create two pincers aimed ultimately at Kharkiv
– or at least to divert Ukrainian units from other
areas of the front. None of this succeeded.
In other sectors, the Russian advance did not
speed up, and even in the Kharkiv region, they
only managed to occupy a few abandoned
villages at great cost. By the end of the monitored
period, the Ukrainians even started pushing the
Russians back.
Western Missile against Russia?
This Kharkiv adventure did have one significant
consequence, although not the one the Russians
envisioned. Most Western countries lifted
restrictions that prohibited Ukrainians from
using their weapons against Russian territory.
The result was, for instance, the destruction of an
S-300 battery in the Belgorod region. The S-300
missiles, in a ground-to-ground configuration,
were previously used by the Russians to shell
Kharkiv and kill its residents.
At first glance, this sounds overly optimistic.
However, details gradually emerged, revealing
that the USA only slightly relaxed its restrictions.
Ukrainians can only use standard GMLRS
missiles from HIMARS rocket launchers, with
a range of about 80 km, against Russian territory.
They cannot attack Russia with ATACMS missiles,
which have a range of 300 km. Thus, critical
command posts of the Russian army remain
out of Ukrainian reach. The areas Ukraine can
shell are also limited, and they must carefully
select their targets. They can only strike those
units actively attacking Ukrainian territory from
Russian soil. Therefore, Ukraine continues to
fight mainly with domestically produced drones
on Russian territory, while Western missiles
are used against occupied territories, focusing
particularly on Crimea.
Attacks on Airports
On Saturday, April 27, drones struck the
Kuschevskaya airbase in Russia's Krasnodar
region. One Flanker (Su-27 or Su-35) was
damaged, and one unidentified aircraft was
destroyed. Much more significant, however, was
the hit on a warehouse containing kits for the
wing-mounted guided glide bombs, which was
completely destroyed. The Russian air force
had been using these bombs to attack Ukrainian
frontline positions for several months, so their
destruction is a welcome aid to the defenders
in the trenches.
On Tuesday, April 30, 12 ATACMS missiles hit
targets around the Dzhankoi and Gvardeiskoe
airbases in occupied Crimea.
Belbek airport in Crimea suffered massive
damage on Wednesday, May 15, after being
hit by ATACMS missiles. Two MiG-31 fighters
and one unidentified aircraft were completely
destroyed. One Su-27 was damaged, and
another three Su-27s were likely damaged.
One MiG-29 was also destroyed. This
MiG-29 was one of the nine originally Ukrainian
fighters captured by the Russians at Belbek
airbase during the 2014 occupation of Crimea
and had remained in a non-operational state
since. Additionally, a fuel depot was completely
burned down, which is a significant blow to
the Russian air force's ability to operate from
Belbek. Without the necessary infrastructure,
it's just a concrete runway without the
capability to quickly prepare aircraft for combat
missions. The final blow was the destruction
of an S-400 air defense battery, with photos
of the battery appearing on social media.
During the monitored period from May 1 to May 31, the Russians attempted to open
a new front in the Kharkiv area. It ended as it always does. Meanwhile, Ukraine
intensified its campaign against Russian airports. The targets included air defense
systems, radars, and bomb and fuel depots. It seems they are preparing the ground
for the anticipated deployment of F-16 fighters.
Note the weathering
on this Ukrainian MiG-29.
Aerial War in Ukraine
INFO Eduard50
July 2024