Ukraine Drone Strike on Russian Airfield Hit Su-27 Fighter Jet: Report

A Ukrainian strike on a military airbase in southern Russia over the weekend damaged a Russian fighter jet, according to a new report, as Ukraine pushes on with cross-border attacks on key Russian assets.

Ukrainian drones operated by Kyiv's security services attacked the Kushchyovskaya airbase in Russia's Krasnodar region between Saturday night and Sunday morning, Ukrainian media reported.

A number of aircraft, including Su-27 jets, are based at the airfield, according to several domestic outlets, citing anonymous sources. Following the attack, a fire broke out and a Russian Su-27 was "damaged," Russian independent media outlet Astra reported.

Newsweek couldn't independently verify the report, and has reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment via email. Moscow said early on Sunday that 57 Ukrainian drones were "destroyed and intercepted" in the Krasnodar region overnight.

Kyiv has repeatedly targeted Russia's military airbases, which house jets used to attack sites and military positions across Ukraine.

Last week, Kyiv targeted the Belbek airfield, just outside the Russian-controlled Crimean city of Sevastopol. Satellite imagery appeared to show that two of Russia's MiG-31 fighter jets, plus an Su-27, had been destroyed at the southwestern Crimean site.

Ukraine has also targeted a Russian airbase near Dzhankoi, a strategic military hub in northern Crimea, and facilities deep within internationally recognized Russian territory, such as the Engels-2 airbase in Russia's Saratov region.

Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicles previously zeroed in on the Kushchyovskaya airbase late last month. Kyiv's targeting of the facility will likely force Russia to move around both its fighter jets and its air defense systems, the British government said in April.

Jets stationed at Kushchyovskaya are used "daily" to strike Ukrainian positions along the frontline, including using glide bombs, the U.K. defense ministry assessed at the time. Footage widely circulated online appeared to show the destruction of glide bomb kits at the site.

An anonymous military source told Britain's Sky News that the strikes on Kushchyovskaya over the past weekend had "significantly reduced" how many glide bomb attacks Russia could use against Ukrainian positions along the frontlines.

Russia has made extensive use in recent months of adapted Soviet-era "dumb" munitions, fitting guidance kits and pop-out wings to the bombs so they glide accurately towards their targets. They can be launched by Russian jets largely out of the reach of Ukraine's air defenses.

They have menaced Ukraine, including in the northeastern Kharkiv region and hotspots of fighting in the eastern Donetsk region.

"Ukraine's ability to disrupt Russian tactical air, particularly glide bomb usage, is key to the wider defense of the frontlines," the U.K. government said last month.

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