Ukraine hits Russian air bases with drone and missile attacks

Ukraine’s military targeted Russian air bases Tuesday night with a barrage of missiles and drones, part of a continued push into Kremlin territory that began last week.

Kyiv’s attacks, which hit Russia’s Kursk region, were praised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “precise, timely and effective.”

An official at the Security Service of Ukraine told Politico the move was Ukraine’s largest attack on Russian airfields since the war began in February 2022.

“It was our strongest attack since the start of the war. A fun night today at the airfields of Voronezh, Kursk, Savasleyka and Borisoglebsk — airfields from where Russian jets bomb our front-line cities with unstoppable glided bombs,” the official said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense also confirmed the strikes in a Wednesday statement, noting more than 100 Ukrainian drones and missiles were shot down over the Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Volgograd, Bryansk, Orel, Rostov and Nizhny Novgorod regions.

The latest Ukrainian attack comes a little more than a week after Kyiv’s surprise incursion into Russia, the first time foreign troops have entered Kremlin territory since World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to “kick the enemy out,” but his forces have yet to quell the advance.

President Biden also addressed Ukraine’s operation Tuesday, telling reporters the move was “creating a real dilemma for Putin” and that his team was in “constant contact” with Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine on Monday claimed to have taken more than 380 square miles of Russian territory in a bid to put “pressure on the aggressor,” Zelensky said. 

The Ukrainian president also used the moment to press Western nations for more long-range missiles, as future military operations will need more than drones.

“We need other weapons, missile weapons. And we continue to work with our partners on long-range solutions for Ukraine,” he said.

Moscow, meanwhile, claims its troops have stopped Ukraine’s advance in the Kursk region, but conflicting reports from some Russian war bloggers and Kyiv have cast doubt on that assertion.