Satellite tv for pc imagery obtained by The Conflict Zone confirms that ammunition and weapons storage bunkers at Russia’s Engels Air Base had been destroyed in a Ukrainian drone assault on Thursday. The assault resulted in a large fireball and mushroom cloud. You may learn our preliminary story about it here.
A high-resolution picture, taken as we speak by Maxar Applied sciences, reveals many of the harm occurred at storage areas a couple of mile east of the runway. Not less than a dozen storage services and different close by buildings had been destroyed within the assault. It additionally created a number of giant craters. The extreme harm was brought on by large secondary explosions when the drones detonated explosive ordnance saved there. Concentrating on munitions storage areas for his or her secondary results is a standard tactic utilized by each side when using standoff weaponry.
There have been claims on Russian Telegram channels {that a} Tu-95MS Bear-H bomber might have been broken by shrapnel, however there isn’t any indication within the satellite tv for pc photographs of main harm to aviation belongings on the base. Nonetheless, shrapnel harm with out secondary results wouldn’t present up on this decision of images, so it’s attainable.
Not less than two pilots of a Bear bomber had been killed within the assault, according to Russian Telegram channels. There was no indication whether or not they had been within the bomber on the time. The Conflict Zone can not independently affirm that declare.
In line with the ruSSian sources a crew of the Tu-95SM had been killed in yesterday’s assault on the Engels-2 air base. pic.twitter.com/CquzoWEeJV
“A warehouse of aviation ammunition at a army airfield was hit, and a hearth began on the facility,” the Astra news outlet reported on Friday. “A number of hours later, ammunition started to detonate there – not less than three explosions occurred.”
Video and pictures rising on social media after the assault confirmed a large explosion and a darkish cloud rising over town.
There was additionally video displaying the super shockwave that broken close by buildings. There’s a village situated a couple of tenth of a mile east of the broken ammunition bunkers, which is probably going the place the video beneath was filmed.
Not less than three servicemen had been injured within the assault, Astra acknowledged. Not less than 5 civilians had been injured by the ensuing hearth. As well as, the home windows within the Engels Metropolis Medical Hospital No. 1 had been blown out by falling particles.
“A complete of 120 individuals had been evacuated from the hazard zone,” Astra defined. Not less than “180 personal homes had been broken in the course of the assault. The authorities launched a state of emergency on the municipal degree.”
The assault concerned greater than 50 drones, in keeping with Astra. The strikes had been carried out by Ukrainian-made long-range one-way assault drones, with not less than one video seemingly indicating the usage of the twin-boom Lyutyy or the visually comparable PD-2. Each these varieties have been used to attack targets deep inside Russia on a number of events.
Engels – a significant army airfield. Clearly air defence was not ok.
A mixture of improved Ukraine weaponry, overwhelming air defence and/or beforehand taking out radars to strip the bottom of safety.
Even in the course of the assault, drones had been filmed flying easily overhead. pic.twitter.com/2HzupAz5df
The bottom, 300 miles from the Ukrainian border, is house to the twenty second Heavy Bomber Aviation Division, which operates one squadron of Tu-95MS Bear-H bombers, one other squadron of supersonic Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bombers and is the first base for the Tu-160 Blackjack bombers. The latter plane have been widely employed within the battle in Ukraine and particularly within the standoff strikes which have focused Ukraine’s power infrastructure, amongst different aims, civilian and army, throughout the nation.
Engels Air Base is situated about 300 miles from Ukraine. (Google Earth) A map displaying the final location of Engels Air Base in western Russia. Google Maps
Engels has been a frequent goal for Ukraine. It was attacked three times within the month of December 2022 alone. On not less than a kind of events, the Russian Ministry of Protection stated the air base was attacked by Soviet-made jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles modified by Ukraine to hold explosives. These assaults — which additionally focused Dyagilevo Air Base — resulted in harm to not less than one Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bomber and apparently additionally to a Tu-95MS.
Extra just lately, in January of this 12 months, we reported on an enormous hearth near Engels Air Base, brought on by what Russian officers described as a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack. The strike was on the strategically necessary gasoline storage tank farm for Engels and the fireplace raged for a number of days after, as seen within the picture within the embedded tweet beneath:
Russia’s Rosreserv gasoline depot in Engels continued to burn as we speak after a Ukrainian drone assault final evening, with a number of further storage tanks igniting all through the day.
Inside the final hour, the regional governor of Saratov declared a state of emergency. pic.twitter.com/EzhoQTgqK0
The most recent assault got here as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to a tentative agreement in principle with Russia calling for a mutual pause on energy infrastructure assaults. Nonetheless, there was no timetable for implementation and each side proceed to launch strikes in opposition to one another.
