Units of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, in coordination with other components of the Defense Forces, launched an attack on the Russian airbase of Savasleika on the night of June 9. The base is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region — about 700 km from the Ukrainian border.
The operation was confirmed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to the official Ukrainian statement, two units of Russian aviation equipment were hit during the strike, possibly MiG-31 and Su-30 or Su-34 aircraft. However, no images or videos verifying the damage have been released so far.
Independent Russian sources also reported unusual activity in the area during the time of the attack, between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m., including alerts about drones and jet-powered UAVs.
Despite this, NASA’s FIRMS satellite system did not detect any signs of fire or thermal anomalies at the site, suggesting there were no major explosions.
The Savasleika airbase is a strategic installation regularly used by MiG-31K fighters armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles — one of Russia’s primary aerial threats in the ongoing conflict.
For this reason, the base has previously been targeted by Ukrainian attacks, such as in August last year, when drones managed to strike fuel depots and tanker trucks, although the damage was not deemed significant.
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Previous images of the base, published by analyst MT Anderson, showed evidence of drone strikes near aircraft parking areas and logistics warehouses.
Following those incidents, Russia relocated its Il-76 transport aircraft to other locations.
This new Ukrainian offensive highlights Kyiv’s growing ability to strike strategic targets far beyond the front line, using long-range drones and advanced intelligence operations.
Source and images: Telegram @GeneralStaffZSU | @mod_russia_en | Militarnyi/. This content was created with AI assistance and reviewed by the editorial team.
