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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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A Russian air base in Crimea that caught fire following a suspected Ukrainian missile attack hosted dozens of military aircraft central to Moscow's invasion.
Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russian facilities on the peninsula Moscow has occupied since 2014 and which Kyiv has vowed to recapture. Regarding the latest incident, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, said there had been a massive Ukrainian missile attack over the port city overnight Tuesday.
Footage on social-media channels showed flames billowing into the air at the Belbek airfield near Sevastopol. Here is the focal point of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, whose vessels and infrastructure have been repeatedly targeted by Kyiv. Newsweek has as yet been unable to verify the footage.
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The news outlet Krym Realii, which is part of U.S.-funded network Radio Free Liberty, said the attack was carried out in two waves, and after the second, several explosions similar to detonation were heard.
Krym Realii said that its data showed that at the airfield were based 12 Sukhoi Su-27 aircraft, 12 Sukhoi Su-27SM aircraft, and three Sukhoi Su-27UB combat training aircraft, as well as five two-seat Sukhoi Su-30M2—a total of 32 jets.
The post did not outline whether the aircraft were damaged and that "it is unclear whether the fire was caused by a missile strike."
The exact number of missiles involved is unclear, but Russian military blogger Ribar said the attack involved 16 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles, which last month the U.S. said it had given Kyiv.
"Unfortunately, one or two missiles could not be shot down and the consequences of this have been revealed to the whole world, thanks to the publication of a video from a CCTV camera," the post said. "How and why this is still possible in the third year of the war has long been a rhetorical question."
Ribar added that it was not entirely clear where the missiles were fired from, with past launches taking place from the Beryslav area in Kherson oblast. However, the blogger said that the position may have been changed to prevent detection and the missiles could have been fired from Snake Island, 22 miles from the Ukrainian coast. It was the scene of a fierce fight at the start of the war.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that its air defenses had thwarted the attack by downing 10 long-range missiles. Local residents told the ASTRA telegram channel that there were "about 20" missiles fired.
The local Crimean Wind Telegram channel said explosions had been heard in Yevpatoria and the Bakhchisaray districts, and satellite images showed that there were three fires at around the runway and parking areas.
Russian state news agency TASS also said that Russia had intercepted American HARM anti-radar missiles, French Hammer guided bombs, large-caliber rockets and aircraft-type drones. The claims have not been independently verified, and Newsweek has emailed the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment.
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