Satellite images of Russian Belbek airfield in Crimea after missile strike appear online
Planet.com satellite imagery taken over the Belbek airfield in Crimea on 16 May shows an area where Su-27, Su-30 and MiG-31 fighter jets were parked. Maxar's images show that two MiG-31s and one Su-27 were completely destroyed.
Source: Radio Liberty Russian Service, The New York Times investigator Christiaan Triebert on X (Twitter)
Details: The extent of the damage and the number of damaged aircraft are difficult to determine, as only the image from 1 May is available for comparison.
Ukrainian sources have unofficially reported that Russia lost three aircraft.
The imagery also shows that the airfield's fuel and lubricants storage facility completely burned down.
Update: The New York Times investigator Christiaan Triebert has posted high-quality images of the aftermath of the attack on the Belbek airfield in occupied Crimea.
These images by Maxar show the remains of the aircraft in detail.
Triebert suggested that two MiG-31s and one Su-27 were completely destroyed, and one MiG-29 was damaged.
Damage to fuel and lubricant tanks has also been confirmed.
Background:
- Local authorities in the temporarily occupied city of Sevastopol reported explosions and a response by air defence systems late in the evening on 15 May
- On the night of 15-16 May, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that their air defence systems had shot down "five ATACMS tactical missiles" over the territory of occupied Crimea.
- The Astra channel, citing two of its sources, reported a fire at the airfield, while the Krymskiy Veter (Crimean Wind) channel claimed that the airfield's fuel depot had been hit.
- The Russian-controlled authorities in Crimea claimed that the attack had been repelled.
- An air-raid warning was issued in temporarily occupied Crimea on the night of 14-15 May. Traffic on the Crimean Bridge was suspended for a while, air defences were responding to an attack and explosions were heard.
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