Ukrainian drones have destroyed a Russian bomb depot at the Kushchevska airfield in Russia, which will reduce Russian air attacks at the front, the UK Ministry of Defence said, citing its intelligence.
On 27 April, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) launched a drone strike on the Kushchevska airfield, as well as on the Ilya and Slavyansk refineries in Krasnodar Territory. The Russian Ministry of Defence has announced the downing of 66 UAVs, which indicates the scale of the attack, the British Ministry of Defence concludes.
A number of Russian fighter jets, including Su-34 and Su-35, are stationed at the Kushchevska airfield. They are used daily to strike at Ukrainian frontline positions, including intensive use of glide bombs.
Open-source videos show the destruction of several depots of planned bombs. Russian fighter jets from Kushchevske and a number of other airbases typically fly between 100 and 150 combat sorties per day, a significant percentage of which launch munitions all along the frontline as Russia attempts to achieve breakthroughs through firepower.
Ukraine's ability to disrupt Russian tactical aviation, including the use of precision-guided bombs, is key to the wider defence of the frontline. This successful strike is likely to force Russia to disperse its fighter jets and redeploy air defence assets to close the gaps, according to the British Ministry of Defence.