Strike on the airfield in Bedryansk: satellite images of the aftermath of the attack have appeared (photos)
The strike destroyed at least 5 helicopters in Berdiansk, and the fire was even recorded on NASA’s fire tracking service. This was the first use of ATACMS missiles by the Ukrainian army.
The Ukrainian army has attacked Russian air bases in Berdiansk and Luhansk, which are under temporary occupation. Satellite images of the aftermath of the strikes in Berdiansk have now been posted online. They were published by University of Tokyo professor Hidenori Watanawa on X (formerly Twitter).
As a result of the ATACMS ballistic missile strike, the General Staff reported the destruction of 6 Russian helicopters. Satellite imagery showed five hit targets at the site of the strikes. The photos were taken on October 17, 2023, the day after the strike. Currently, they are available in low resolution, but OSINT analysts have already estimated that 5 helicopters were destroyed at the occupiers’ base in Berdiansk.
The fire was also recorded through NASA’s FIRMS service, which records fires on Earth using satellites. At least three places where there was a fire are visible at the airfield in Berdiansk.
Photo: NASA
ATACMS attacks Russian airfield in Berdiansk
On the night of October 16-17, Ukraine attacked Russian airfields in Berdiansk and Luhansk. At the site of the attack, the occupiers found fragments of ATACMS missiles with a cluster warhead. According to the Special Operations Forces, nine Russian helicopters were destroyed. The operation was called Dragonfly.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, published a video of the launch of ATACMS at the Russian occupiers. According to the NYT, Ukraine received a batch of 20 Block 1 missiles. It has a range of 165 km and 950 submunitions. At the final stage of the flight, the rocket begins to rotate rapidly at a speed of 2400 revolutions per minute. The radius of destruction can be changed by setting the height at which submunitions are fired.
