Ukraine humiliates Putin with NEW devastating airbase strike causing up to 146m damage | World | News

Ukraine successfully inflicted more pain on Putin’s battered air force, following a ferocious overnight attack. Putin’s high command were left reeling after Ukrainian drones inflicted an estimated £5 billion damage on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet in an audacious operation dubbed Spiderweb at the beginning of June.

Some eighteen months in the planning, the covert attack is reported to have destroyed or disabled as many as 41 aircraft, including surveillance planes. Ukraine continues to put pressure on Russia’s airforce as it seeks to limit Putin’s ability to bomb Ukrainian cities and towns, which have resulted in scores of deaths and injuries to civilians.

Drones struck the Marinovka airfield in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The airbase is located in the Volgograd region, some 900 kilometres (560 miles) southeast of Moscow, and is home to a squadron of SU-34 fighter jets.

Initial reports claim two of the supersonic fighter-bombers were destroyed, while two more were damaged.

In addition to targeting the jets, Ukrainian forces also hit the airfield’s technical support section, a facility used for maintenance and repair of combat aircraft.

The SU-34 costs up to US$50 (£36m) to manufacture and is one of Russia’s main vehicles for carrying out bombing raids on Ukrainian cities, as well as military positions.

The planes drop gliding bombs equipped with correction and guidance modules, making them a particularly lethal and effective weapon.

The operation was carried out by the Special Forces and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in cooperation with other military units, according to the General Staff.

Ukraine has shifted tactics in recent months, as it targets airbases in Russia’s rear with increased frequency.

It also emerged Ukraine’s army lured Russian troops into a deadly trap, killing a top Putin commander and wiping out a battalion in a battlefield rout.

The idea is to degrade the rear support infrastructure of the Russian Air Force, in an attempt to limit its ability to carry out raids.

The overnight attack also underscores the growing vulnerabilities of Russian air assets, even within supposedly secure regions.

The Marinovka base was previously targeted in August last year, causing a fire to break out.

At the time, the region’s governor, Andrey Bocharov, claimed that falling debris from an intercepted drone started the fire.