Overview
- Ukraine’s Security Service said its Alpha unit used long-range drones on Dec. 20 to strike two Russian Su-27 fighters at Belbek near Sevastopol.
- One Su-27 positioned on a taxiway with a full combat load was destroyed, according to the SSU.
- The agency reported a separate hit on the airfield’s control tower, which it said could hinder flight organization and control.
- The strike is the second at Belbek in days after an earlier attack that the SSU said damaged two Nebo-SVU radars, a 92N6 S-400 radar, a Pantsir-S2 system, and a MiG-31 with a full load.
- The SSU estimated the two aircraft at roughly $70 million in value, while earlier Ukrainian reports also cited hits on a Russian patrol ship and a Caspian Sea drilling platform.