OSINT analyst posts photos showing damage to Russian drone base after strike
Two ground storage facilities at the Tsimbulova drone base in Russia's Oryol Oblast were damaged in a Ukrainian defence forces attack on the night of 30 September – 1 October.
Source: Absolutely Reliable Source, a Ukrainian OSINT community, on Telegram
Details: Tsimbulova is located near the village of Bolkhov. It is used, among other things, to launch Geran-type attack drones.
Quote: "As a result of the strike, two ground storage facilities, preparation and equipping zones for UAVs were damaged. Three Russian soldiers were injured (may they rot in hell and never rest in peace)."
Details: The Tsimbulova drone base is located 180 km from the border with Ukraine. The Russians have described it as "the largest droneport in the world". The site covers 5 sq km and is equipped with runways and stationary drone launchers, or catapults. Hundreds of garages and dozens of underground storage facilities have also been built there.
According to estimates by Ukrainska Pravda based on satellite imagery, 23 launchers for various types of UAVs, 387 garages and 26 underground storage facilities have been built at Tsimbulova. The image also shows plans to build four additional launchers for jet-powered drones and 83 more garages and underground storage facilities.
How Russian drone bases operate was explained in detail in our previous article: "Droneports": inside Russian UAV bases and why they are so difficult to destroy
Background:
- UP reported that Ukrainian defence forces struck a Russian storage, preparation and launch site for attack drones near Tsimbulova in late September. At least three UAV storage facilities were hit and caught fire, and the launch pad for jet-powered UAVs and five launchers were damaged.
- New launchers for jet-powered Geran-4 and Geran-5 UAVs have also been installed at Tsimbulova.
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