Ukrainian strike cripples Russian airbase, depletes vital fuel reserves

As a result of the recent Ukrainian attack on Belbek airport (near Sevastopol) in the past few days, the Russians lost a lot of valuable equipment. In addition to the machinery, the aggressor's army suffered equally important losses: the entire aviation fuel supply.

Let us recall that the Ukrainians attacked Belbek airport on Wednesday, 15 May. In the following days, the Russians regularly found fragments of ammunition at the base, which served as evidence of what the Ukrainian armed forces had hit with—these were ATACMS missiles, which contain nearly 1,000 smaller M74 submunitions.

It quickly turned out that the weapons delivered by the USA left a real battleground in the Russian base in Crimea. The first satellite images showed that the Russian Federation's army lost MiG-31 aircraft and S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft systems as a result of the attack.

The network continues to receive further reports about the attack on Belbek—this time, satellite images show that the Ukrainians managed to destroy the entire supply of aviation fuel stored at the airport. Thus, the planes stationed there (those that were not killed) were grounded.

Belbek airport served civilian flights until 2014. Only after Russia annexed Crimea was it designated a military airport. Since then, planes used by the army have been stationed there, primarily squadrons of MiG-31, Su-27, and Su-35 fighters.

Fuel supplies for the planes were also stored in Belbek to maintain flight continuity and the ability to conduct regular attacks or training flights. They were stationed there until 15 May because, in the last attack, the Ukrainians destroyed all 18 aviation fuel tanks located at the airbase. Thus, the remaining planes in Belbek were grounded.

Although some were not damaged during the attack, what specific machines were affected by the ATACMS barrage? The lack of fuel in Belbek will affect the reduction of flights of one of the most dangerous aircraft in the Russian Federation's arsenal. We are talking about the MiG-31, which, in the version with the "K" designation, can carry hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles. At the same time, it is the world's fastest currently operated combat aircraft—explained Wirtualna Polska journalist Łukasz Michalik.

Among the aircraft stationed in Belbek are also Su-27, interceptor fighters used to gain air superiority. This is due to their high maximum speed of 2.3 Mach (about 1,491 mph) and valuable armament in the form of guided missiles (including R-73). The Russians also grounded their Su-35 in Belbek, which are multirole fighters that accelerate to speeds close to the Su-27 and carry a range of various types of armaments (R-73, R-27 missiles, KAB, FAB bomb families, and S-8 or SB-13 rocket pods).