Bombing the Bombers: Ukraine’s Latest Strikes In Russia
Kyiv’s new strategy has also increasingly been directed at Russia’s oil industry, notably its refineries.
As the ongoing war in Ukraine shows no signs of ending as it approaches its three-year mark, Kyiv continues to be creative in how it engages its larger adversary. That has included employing drones to target Russian air bases far from the border. The Russian Aerospace Force’s Engels Air Base, located about 450 miles southeast of Moscow and hundreds of miles from Ukraine, was first hit in December 2022.
Earlier this month, Ukraine carried out an attack on the Kombinat Kristall oil depot, which provides fuel to the Engels-2 military airfield—while the actual air base was hit again just last week.
These drone attacks have damaged and destroyed multiple Russian long-range bombers, notably several Tu-95MS (NATO reporting name “Bear”) aircraft, and at least two Tu-22M (NATO reporting name “Backfire”) supersonic bombers—one the latter targeted at the Olenya air base in the Murmansk Oblast just last summer.
Striking the Bomber Facilities
While it is likely that Kyiv will continue to target the bombers and other aircraft on the ground, Ukraine is now also striking the critical infrastructure that builds the aircraft.
“Ukraine’s long-range unmanned aerial vehicles are going after the factory that builds and maintains many of the Russian air force’s bombers: the Kazan Aircraft Plant in Kazan, around 700 miles from the front line in Ukraine,” David Axe wrote for Forbes.com on Monday.
The Kazan Aircraft Plant, located in the Tatarstan region, is about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine. The plant, which came under European Union sanctions in 2023, was first built in 1927. Over the past century, it has produced nearly 20,000 aircraft, and today remains one of the primary facilities that builds and maintains the Tu-160 White Swan (NATO reporting name “Blackjack”) and Tu-22 bombers. Tatarstan officials have said the attack resulted in no damage, but reports on social media suggested a major fire may have broken out. Flights were also suspended at Kazan International Airport.
“Explosions are reported near the Borisoglebsk airfield and at the Gorbunov aircraft factory. At least one fuel tank was struck,” the open-source military intelligence analyst @Tendar reported on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Fueling the War Effort
Sunday’s strike on the facilities was just the most recent attack carried out on the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, and it likely won’t be the last. Kyiv’s new strategy has also increasingly been directed at Russia’s oil industry, notably its refineries.
“Oil doesn’t just fuel the Russian war machine, it’s also a main source of revenue for the Russian state,” Axe wrote. “Blowing up the fuel tanks attached to Russian bomber bases—and the industrial sites associated with the bomber bases—probably can’t stop the Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities, but it can make the bombardment costlier for Moscow.”
The factories may be an easier target. Russia has moved the aircraft to bases further from Ukraine and has employed efforts to camouflage the aircraft on the ground—some more effective than others. The Kremlin has spread out its bomber force, but it can’t move the factories!
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
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