Crimea Satellite Images Reveal Aftermath of Strike on Russian Air Base

New satellite imagery appears to show damage to a Russian airfield in Crimea after a Ukrainian missile strike on the facility last week.

Last Friday, Ukraine's military said its missile forces struck the Saky air base, which Russia uses to "control airspace" in the Black Sea and coordinate strikes on Ukraine. Russian air defenses did not fend off the strike, Kyiv's armed forces said.

Several Russian military blogger Telegram channels, often used as sources of information in lieu of official statements from Moscow, suggested at least one Russian Su-30SM jet had been damaged or destroyed in the strikes.

Satellite images, published by an investigative journalism project run by the Ukrainian service of the U.S.-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty outlet, appear to show "dark spots" on the Saky airfield where Su-30 aircraft were said to be based. The satellite imagery is dated July 28.

Newsweek could not independently verify the imagery and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry via email for comment.

Kyiv has consistently targeted Russia's air bases, logistics hubs and naval facilities in Crimea in the more than two years of full-scale war. Russia has controlled Crimea since it annexed the peninsula in 2014, but this action was not internationally recognized. Ukraine has vowed to reclaim Crimea.

Kyiv has previously attacked the Saky air base and several other airfields across Crimea. The Belbek military airfield, close to the Russian Black Sea naval fleet's Sevastopol base in southern Crimea, and the Dzhankoy airfield in northern Crimea have also been targeted.

Last week, a local Telegram channel in Crimea reported explosions and smoke rising around Novofedorivka, a settlement close to the air base on the peninsula's western edge.

Russian independent news outlet Astra reported at the time that Ukrainian forces had used U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System ATACMS missiles to strike the Saky airfield. An ammunition depot was hit and an air defense radar station destroyed, the outlet said.

In an apparent reference to the strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last Friday he wished to "especially commend our warriors who are striking Russian bases and logistics in the occupied territories."

"Every destroyed Russian air base, every destroyed Russian military aircraft—whether on the ground or in the air—saves Ukrainian lives. I thank our warriors for their precision," he said.

Ukraine has regularly launched drone and long-range missile attacks on Crimea, including with its stocks of U.S.-made ATACMS and the British Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles.

These long-range missiles help Ukraine strike high-value Russian targets far behind the front lines. However, Kyiv is permitted to use ATACMS only against occupied or annexed areas, not territory internationally recognized as part of Russia.

Kyiv used ATACMS to fire on the Belbek air base in mid-May and several Russian air defense systems, including those close to the Dzhankoy airfield, the following month.

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