Continuous drone attacks on Russian airfields raise doubts about Russia’s ability to protect its strategic facilities in the interior of the country.
The report claims that on August 19, a Russian Tu-22 M3 medium bomber was allegedly downed by long-range aircraft at the Siltsy airbase in the Novgorod region, 650 km from the Ukrainian border. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), similar to a copter, was responsible for the attack.
“If true, this reinforces the assessment that some UAV attacks on Russian military targets are coming from Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to be able to reach the Soltsy from outside Russia,” the British Ministry of Defense said.
According to British intelligence, Russia has regularly used Tu-22 M3 bombers to launch heavy, low-accuracy X-22 anti-ship missiles at Ukraine. At the beginning of the war, they also actively bombed Mariupol with unguided bombs.
“This is at least the third successful attack on long-range airfields, which again raises questions about Russia’s ability to defend strategic facilities in the interior of the country,” the statement said.
