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Monday, May 6, near the town of Valuyki in the
Belgorod region. It belonged to the 47th Bomber
Aviation Regiment of the 105th Mixed Aviation
Division. Its crew, Yevgeny Kuznetsov and
Vladimir Strelkov, did not have time to eject and
both pilots died. According to Russian sources,
they were among the most experienced pilots.
The aircraft had also completed a number of
combat missions, symbolized by the red stars
below the cockpit, with the first ones added in
Syria.
Additionally, Ukraine reported shooting down
seven Su-25 attack aircraft and one Ka-52
helicopter during the monitored month, but these
losses have not yet been confirmed. In one case,
however, there is a blurry video purportedly
capturing the strike on a Russian Su-25.
Fuel in the Gunsight
In addition to airport attacks, Ukraine
continued targeting refineries, strategic
enterprises, and other significant sites. On Friday,
May 10, an ATACMS missile completely destroyed
the largest fuel depot in the entire Luhansk
region.
A major attack occurred on the night of May
11-12, when Ukrainian military intelligence
(GRU) drones repeatedly hit a refinery in
Volgograd, approximately 475 km from the
front line. Simultaneously, steelworks in
Novolipetsk and another refinery in Kaluga
were attacked. The next day, a Storm Shadow
missile struck a large radar complex in Crimea.
On Friday, May 17, a concentrated attack
targeted a refinery in Tuapse in southern Russia.
Ukrainians exploited gaps in Russian air defense,
sending a total of 80 drones in a column. This
same refinery had been seriously damaged by
drones back in January, with repairs lasting until
April.
On the morning of Thursday, May 23, a Russian
Voronezh-DM radar station in the Krasnodar
region, used for over-the-horizon early detection,
was hit by drones. This occurred 430 km from
the front line. The radar's stated range was up
to 6,000 km.
In Luhansk, on Monday, May 27, an old, long-
unused airfield, now serving the Russians for
importing and storing supplies, was targeted
by ATACMS missiles. Based on the massive fire
that broke out on the runway, a fuel depot was
destroyed.
Bombing Their Own
The Russians also shelled their own territory,
albeit unintentionally. On Sunday, May 4, a glide
bomb intended for Kharkiv fell on Belgorod,
damaging around 30 houses and resulting in
civilian casualties.
In three months, the Russian air force dropped
46 FAB-250 and FAB-500 bombs on its own
territory. On May 18, eight of these bombs fell in
the Belgorod region alone. These reports come
from Russian media that support the attack on
Ukraine. Then, on May 20, four glide bombs fell
on Shebekino, which is on the Russian side of
the border opposite Ukrainian Vovchansk. It is
fortunate for Russian civilians that most of these
bombs did not explode, likely because they were
not armed during faulty or emergency drops.
A controversial incident occurred in Belgorod
on Sunday, May 12, when a multi-family building
in a residential area was hit. Part of the building
collapsed immediately, and the rest fell on the
rescuers searching for victims in the rubble.
At least 15 people died and 20 were injured. It is
unclear what hit the building. Various Russian
sources mentioned an ATACMS missile, Tochka-U,
Vilkha, or a guided Hammer bomb. It was also
speculated tha the Czech Vampire rocket
launcher was used. Some Russian sources
admitted that the building was not intentionally
targeted, claiming a downed missile had hit it.
The building was not struck from the Ukrainian
side, as windows on the adjacent entrance
remained intact. The explosion occurred on the
side facing Russian territory, where neighboring
windows were shattered. Most likely, the
building was hit by a Russian air defense missile.
It should be noted that conspiracy theories
emerged suggesting the building was blown up
by the Russian secret service. Similar suspicious
explosions preceded Putin's first term in office
in 2000. He was "re-elected" again recently.
The practical outcome of his fifth term is
a change in the position of defense minister.
Sergei Shoigu was replaced by Andrei Belousov.
Duels between Boat and Helicopter
Ukraine continued its naval drone operations.
In addition to attacking Russian ships, they
started using these drones armed with
unconventional weapons. Drones equipped
with Grad rocket launchers shelled the coast
A Su-34 marked RF-95002 and fuselage number "red
21" was destroyed on May 6. Combat mission symbols
are visible under the cockpit.
The Voronezh-DM radar station hit by
Ukrainian drones on May 23.
A Russian bomb that fell on a house in the Belgorod
region of Russia.
An apartment building destroyed in Belgorod on May 12.
INFO Eduard52
July 2024