Forbes: Ukraine could not destroy dozens of Russian Su-34s due to the ban on striking with Western weapons on the territory of Russia

At the beginning of this summer, Ukraine lost the opportunity to destroy "dozens" of Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers due to the ban on striking with Western long-range weapons on Russian territory.

Forbes writes about it.

The publication writes that then the 47th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment of the Russian Air Force openly stationed dozens of Su-34s at the Malshevo Air Base near Voronezh, which is approximately 160 km from the border with Ukraine. These planes are the carriers of guided aerial bombs, which Russia constantly uses for attacks on Ukraine.

Since "Malshevo" is well protected, Ukraine asked the US for permission to hit it with long-range ATACMS missiles, because they are difficult to intercept. But the Administration of President Joe Biden responded with a categorical refusal due to the threat of a greater escalation of the war.

The Russians, watching the negotiations between Kyiv and Washington regarding the use of ATASMS, made a rare preemptive decision for them — they moved the Su-34 from the Malshevo airbase and from other border airfields.

Currently, many Russian Su-34s are stationed at bases hundreds of kilometers from the border. They are not invulnerable to Ukrainian drones, but they are well protected against most of them. Since the most powerful ATACMS missiles have a range of up to 290 kilometers, Russiaʼs most valuable targets are too far away to hit.

In view of this, the Armed Forces of Ukraine intensified attacks on other Russian airfields, using weapons exclusively of Ukrainian production. Thus, on August 3, Ukrainian drones struck the Morozovsk airfield in the Rostov region of the Russian Federation, where they destroyed a Su-34 fighter-bomber and damaged two more Russian aircraft of the same type.

However, Forbes notes that in order to reduce the number of Russian airstrikes, Ukraine needs to destroy dozens of Russian bombers. The fact that Russia has placed them at airfields far from the border complicates this task.