Russia's Woes Continue as Ukraine Reports Taking Out 3 Aircraft in Crimea

A Ukrainian military official says that Kyiv hit at least three Russian aircraft in this week's strike on the Belbek airbase in occupied Crimea.

Ukraine launched a series of strikes on the Russian airfield near the port city of Sevastopol on Wednesday night. Kyiv claimed that at least 10 Russian military personnel were "liquidated," including Lieutenant General Alexander Tatarenko, while the supersonic missile-equipped warship Ivanovets was also reportedly destroyed.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it shot down at least 20 Ukrainian missiles over the Black Sea and said that no aircraft were damaged in the onslaught, although a prominent pro-Kremlin Telegram account claimed that two jets were damaged and one aircraft was destroyed.

On Friday, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat asserted that three Russian planes had been damaged, although he did not specify the types of aircraft that were purportedly hit. Ignat cited satellite imagery that he claimed was "already on the internet" as evidence of the damage.

"The best confirmation, of course, is satellite images that are already on the Internet and where you can see something," Ignat said, according to Ukrainian news station Hromadske.

"Ukrainian aviators will definitely return home to their native airfield [Belbek]," he added. "For now, I thank everyone who participated in the cleansing of Crimea from the Russian presence!"

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email on Friday.

Since shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to take back Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Ukrainian attacks on Russian targets within or near the disputed peninsula have been ramping up over the course of the war, with particular attention having been paid to Moscow's Black Sea Fleet.

Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR), told French newspaper Le Monde last month that all of the attacks up to that point were "just the beginning."

Approximately 20 percent of the Black Sea Fleet had been destroyed by December, according to Ukrainian defense official Oleksiy Danilov. Notable losses have included the sinking of Russia's flagship Moskva during the early days of the war and the destruction of the landing ship Novocherkassk in late December 2023.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry shared video that purportedly showed this week's sinking of the Ivanovets occurring after the Russian warship was caught in the "trap" of six Ukrainian MAGURA sea drones. Newsweek has not independently verified the authenticity of the video, or any of the other Ukrainian military claims.