Ukraine drones reportedly hit Russian airfield in Arctic (www.politico.eu)
from MicroWave@lemmy.world to world@lemmy.world on 28 Jul 2024 23:12
https://lemmy.world/post/18055884

The drones struck a long-range missile carrier at the Olenya base, Ukrainian Pravda reported.

Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Olenya airfield in the far north of the country on Saturday, hitting a strategic bomber, according to Ukrainian and other media reports.

The drones targeted a Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range missile carrier at the “strategic aviation” base, Ukrainian Pravda reported, citing Ukraine’s intelligence unit. 

Russia has not commented on the attack and Ukrainian military offered no further details.

Located in the Arctic on the Kola Peninsula, the Olenya air base is more than 1,900 kilometers north of Ukraine, but a mere 200 kilometers from the Finnish border.

#world

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xc2215x@lemmy.world on 28 Jul 2024 23:37 next collapse

Good to see from these drones.

someguy3@lemmy.world on 28 Jul 2024 23:45 next collapse

That seems like a big deal.

assembly@lemmy.world on 28 Jul 2024 23:57 next collapse

How did they pull that off? Article says the location is 1,900 miles north of Ukraine. I imagine the longest range drones Ukraine has are those aircraft that look like converted Cessnas and I don’t think a Cessna is making it that far. Maybe launched by a recon group working inside Russia? No matter how they did it, amazing outcome and I really hope to hear about more strikes like this.

TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee on 29 Jul 2024 00:19 next collapse

Maybe a combo glider/Cessna? Whatever they used, it’s amazing news. Now hit the rail lines in the Far East, bringing stuff in and out of China and NK.

Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world on 29 Jul 2024 08:59 next collapse

That would be a bold stroke. I’m not sure how they’d cope with that

FlyingSquid@lemmy.world on 29 Jul 2024 10:46 collapse

They used a two-seater prop plane turned into a drone before, so it wouldn’t exactly shock me if they did something similar again.

forbes.com/…/ukraines-new-factory-smashing-drone-…

SteveFromMySpace@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 29 Jul 2024 00:55 next collapse

Yeah I feel like considering Ukraine is basically running a guerrilla operation, they could have just grabbed a few folks and said “alright this is going to sound ridiculous but we need you to travel really fucking far to hit one target because it’ll freak them out.” This is 100% speculative.

jaybone@lemmy.world on 29 Jul 2024 12:03 collapse

Similar to drones that struck Moscow. I assume they have people sneaking across borders with equipment and cover stories. Probably super dangerous. Maybe some have been caught that we don’t even know about. I wish them the best. Fuck Russia.

SteveFromMySpace@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 29 Jul 2024 13:35 collapse

Yeah I am no expert but historically “we can hit you anywhere anytime“ has been very effective in messing with adversaries’ military strategy and propaganda at home.

Fuck the Russian government and Putin. Yes a lot of Russian citizens are on board, but it’s saddens me how a country with such a rich culture that has contributed so much to the world is becoming a rogue state.

The_v@lemmy.world on 29 Jul 2024 09:00 collapse

Look up the published ranges of the shahed drones from Iran (2,500km or around 1,600 miles). Even if the Irainians are lying about it’s effective range it’s still possible for Ukraine to have copied and improved on the design.

Of course the drones are not that large and there’s a few fishing boats in the artic.

cabron_offsets@lemmy.world on 29 Jul 2024 01:07 next collapse

Fuck russia.

gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works on 29 Jul 2024 04:39 next collapse

My bet is they’ve got a quasi-Q-ship. Or a team that uses normal ships as such.

zabadoh@ani.social on 29 Jul 2024 07:01 collapse

Get the Russians to think about reallocating air defenses away from Ukraine to protect their far-flung military assets.

I’m surprised some yahoo country hasn’t tried to invade Russia, or throw out their Russia-backed sock puppet government.

TBi@lemmy.world on 29 Jul 2024 12:57 collapse

I get the feeling that China is slowly taking over Russia in the background. They probably don’t want to do an overt takeover.

Squizzy@lemmy.world on 29 Jul 2024 14:21 collapse

I am by no means educated on the matter, but I remember seeing a map where they border one another and there being strategic areas China would like and would have a legitimate claim to with regards to ethnicity of the area.

I remember thinking they were just letting Russia screw themselves until they could just walk in. Imagine getting a load of strategic land by doing nothing but stoking the fire and making bullshit statements.