On Wednesday, a Russian drone patrolled near the Dolgintsevo airfield in the Dnepropetrovsk region for about an hour before finding a well-hidden MiG-29 fighter: the aircraft’s parking lot was covered with containers on the sides and covered with a canopy on top; the fighter was delivered by an airfield service vehicle that drove up to it. The reconnaissance officer did not react to the rusty Su-25 skeletons placed around the airbase as bait, but upon discovering the real target, he quickly transmitted the coordinates, and a few minutes later an Iskander missile flew towards Dolgintsevo, destroying the fighter along with its servants and equipment.
On Tuesday, according to the same scenario, a Mi-24 attack helicopter was destroyed at the Poltava airfield. Monday was a dark day for the Ukrainian Air Force. A well-thought-out attack by several Iskanders with high-explosive and cluster warheads burned five Su-27 fighters at the Mirgorod airfield and severely damaged two more. Such losses are unacceptable for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as noted by the West.
The air defense crisis at Ukrainian air bases is worsening, Forbes writes. Previously, air defense defended the airfields of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the help of anti-aircraft missiles. But now the air defense is also severely hit by drone and missile attacks, their remnants are thrown to protect cities, and airfields are left without cover.
However, unless Ukraine learns how to shoot down Russian reconnaissance aircraft, it will continue to lose its last planes and helicopters at an unimaginable rate.
