Ukrainian drones push Russia to scramble bombers beyond Arctic Circle
For four days, Ukrainian drones have attacked the Murmansk region in Russia. So far, it has been possible to shoot down the drones. Still, the Russians, fearing a strike, simultaneously scrambled five bombers and evacuated them from the Olenia base, which Ukraine targets. For the first time since December 2022, there has been no single aircraft at the base.
"Ukrainian drones attacked the Murmansk region on Wednesday," said regional governor Andrei Chibis. According to Russian military officers, the drones managed to fly all the way to the village of Vysokie in the north of the region, near the Olenia military airport, where Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers are stationed.
"Ukraine attacked the Murmansk region using drones for the first time. This is the longest range record in the entire war," announced The Moscow Times.
Russians evacuated their bombers
The air raid, during which Ukrainian drones attacked targets beyond the Arctic Circle for the first time, set a record range since the beginning of the war: the distance from the border to the village of Vysokie is 1,850 kilometres.
Previous record – 1,800 kilometres – was set by the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the end of May, attacking Orsk in the Orenburg region, where an early warning radar station for nuclear attack (Voronezh radar) is located. Previously, the furthest target of Ukrainian drones was a facility in the city of Salavat in the Republic of Bashkortostan, located 1,660 kilometres from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Flying Fox was heading towards the bombers
According to the Mash channel, the drone that attacked the Murmansk region could have come from the Chernihiv region in Ukraine. Residents of the region had previously seen exactly the same model of drone - UAV A22 Flying Fox.
Restrictions on the use of airspace were introduced due to the air raids that have been ongoing for four days at airports in Murmansk and Apatity.
The drones have so far been shot down, but the Russians, fearing for their aircraft, which they used to carry out missile attacks on Ukraine, simultaneously scrambled five strategic bombers Tu-95 and evacuated them to the "Engels-2" base.
"The reason for the massive relocation of strategic bombers was the attack by Ukrainian drones," writes Obozrevatel.
Attack on military base
"In fact, considering the indirect route, the drone covered about 2,000 kilometres, and this was possible thanks to 'huge gaps' in the Russian air defence system," writes the Russian channel "Military Informer." "Such a target could fly such a long distance thanks to a well-designed route, taking into account maps of sparse air defence positions and the operation of their radar," claims the channel.
The Olenia base was successfully attacked at the end of July. As previously reported, as many as two Tu-22M strategic bombers were destroyed. The airport is 1,800 kilometres from Ukraine beyond the Arctic Circle in the Murmansk region.
