Russian Military Airfield Hit by Blasts After Ukraine Drone Raid

What’s New

Ukraine’s latest drone raid has struck a critical air base close to the border that serves as a key location for the launch of Russian missiles into Ukraine, Kyiv reported.

The Millerovo area, located in Russia’s Rostov Oblast, was hammered by UAVs on Monday evening, Rostov Regional Governor Yury Slyusar posted to Telegram. Slyusar said about a dozen drones had been intercepted during the overnight raid and that no casualties had been confirmed.

According to Ukrainian officials, however, the drones successfully struck Millerovo air base, situated a few miles from the occupied regions of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian outlet Censor.net reported that local residents heard explosions near the airfield, while independent Russian newspaper the Moscow Times, citing eyewitnesses on social media, reported fires breaking out on the streets of Millerovo and damage to the Millerovo Cossack Cadet Vocational College.

Newsweek has contacted a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Rostov for further information on the raid.

Why It Matters

Millerovo serves as a critical springboard for Russian air campaigns, and it is one of the main launch sites for Russian missiles and drones into Ukraine, including a 23-hour onslaught that began on Monday.

“From 10:00 on December 23 to 09:00 on December 24, 2024, the enemy attacked with 60 Shahed type strike UAVs and drones of other types from the directions of Bryansk, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk,” Ukraine’s air force reported on Tuesday.

As a result, the air base has become a critical target for Kyiv’s attacks, Millerovo itself being one of the first airfields targeted by Ukraine following the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The air base was also subject to a major drone attack in July, during which 26 UAVS were reportedly shot down by Russian air defenses but caused significant damage to Millerovo.

What To Know

Launch sites for Russian missiles have remained critical targets for Ukraine throughout the yearslong conflict.

In August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Kyiv’s ability to strike air fields and military facilities deep inside Russian territory as the “one decision” that could allow Ukraine to repel Russian advances.

This prompted him to petition the U.S. and other Western allies to ease range restrictions on foreign-supplied weaponry, to which U.S. President Joe Biden and other nations eventually assented.

What People Are Saying

Yury Slyusar, the acting governor of the Rostov Oblast, wrote on Telegram: “Overnight in the Millerovsky and Tarasovsky districts, 4 more UAVs were destroyed and suppressed by electronic warfare. There were no casualties, information about the consequences on the ground is being clarified. The threat of unmanned danger in the Rostov region remains.”

Andriy Kovalenko, a lieutenant in the Ukrainian Defense Forces and the head of the National Security and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation, wrote on Telegram: “Disco at Millerovo airfield. For Russia, it is a strategic airfield in the Rostov region. It serves as a base for front-line aviation, which performs tasks to support Russian infantry operating in the east and south of Ukraine.”

What Happens Next

Ukraine and Russia have continued to exchange aerial attacks, with Russian President Vladimir Putin pledging to make Kyiv the stage for a “high-tech duel” between Moscow’s weaponry and Western-supplied air defense systems.

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