Russia loses 9 aircraft at airbase in Crimea

WEDNESDAY, 10 AUGUST 2022, 22:47

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that, on 9 August, Russia lost nine combat aircraft on the Saky airbase in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Source: Presidential video address; satellite images published by Skhemy, an investigative reporting branch of Radio Svoboda (Radio Liberty), on Facebook

Quote: "In just one day, the occupiers lost 10 combat aircraft: nine in Crimea and one more on the Zaporizhzhia front. The occupiers have also suffered new losses of armoured vehicles, an ammunition point, and supply routes…"

Details: Meanwhile, Skhemy has published photos, provided by the Planet Labs satellite imaging service, of the airbase near the settlement of Novofedorivka in Russian-occupied Crimea.

The images show the sites that were struck and where the Russian aircraft in question, including Su-30SM fighter aircraft and Su-24M attack aircraft, had been stationed before the explosions.

Previously: In the morning, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the Russian armed forces had lost nine aircraft in the war against Ukraine over the previous day. The Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported the destruction of about 10 aircraft as a result of explosions at the Saky air base in Crimea.

Background:

• On 9 August, explosions occurred at the military airbase near Novofedorivka, in the Saky district of Russian-occupied Crimea. Crimean residents posted videos on social media showing at least two epicentres of the fire, and said they had heard 7 to 12 explosions.
• The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that the fire at the Saky airbase was caused by the detonation of several rounds of aircraft ammunition. Later, a Russian defence department source told the Russian state-owned news outlet TASS that there had been a violation of fire safety requirements at the Saky airbase.  
• The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine stated that it could not determine the cause of the fire in Novofedorivka.
• The New York Times, citing a "high-ranking Ukrainian serviceman", wrote that Ukrainian forces were allegedly behind the blast at the airbase in occupied Crimea.
• Mykhailo Podoliak, Senior Adviser to the Ukrainian President, said that Kyiv was not involved in the explosions at the airbase near Novofedorivka in Russian-occupied Crimea.

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