Ukraine attacked Belbek airfield in occupied Crimea on January 31. The attack damaged at least three Russian planes there. There are also losses among the personnel of the Russian army.
This was reported by the spokesman of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ignat in a telethon.
According to him, the best confirmation of the damage is satellite images, which are already available, as well as obituaries of the occupiers in Russian publications.
The Russian public writes about the death of 10 Russians, among whom was Lieutenant General Oleksandr Tatarenko. He commanded an aviation squadron. It is reported that two missiles hit the command post of the 38th fighter aviation regiment, and another hit the airfieldʼs communication point. It is not yet possible to confirm this information.
- On January 31, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a missile attack on the Belbek airfield near Sevastopol. Air defense allegedly shot down 17 air missiles over the Black Sea and 3 more over the Crimean peninsula. Local media reported that the airfield had been hit. Later, corresponding videos appeared. Commander of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Mykola Oleschuk confirmed the attack in the evening of the same day.
- Oleschuk wrote that "Ukrainian aviators will definitely return home to their native airfield," and thanked everyone "who participated in the cleansing of Crimea" from the occupiers. One of the Ukrainian brigades used to be based at Belbek airfield.