An airbase in the Novgorod region in northern Russia has been hit by a suspected drone attack that destroyed at least one long-range bomber.
The Soltsy-2 airbase, between Moscow and St. Petersburg, was hit by an explosion in the early morning of Saturday that destroyed one Tu- Tu-22M3 Backfire-C swing-wing bomber – which has been used to carry out airstrikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure.
An image published today by the Russian media shows a totally burned-to-the-ground Russian bomber.
Open-source-intelligence (OSINT) specialists found presumably the location of the destroyed bomber at the airfield of the Soltsy-2 airbase.
Pictures from Soltsy-2 have finally leaked and it does not look good. Looks like a lone RuAF Tu-22(M3?) took a direct hit. pic.twitter.com/PIstWtGEYw
— Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) August 20, 2023
In a rare acknowledgment of damage to a military “target”, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the attack but said that one aircraft was damaged due to a fire.
“A fire broke out in the aircraft parking lot, which was quickly extinguished. One plane was damaged, no one was injured,” the Russian defense ministry said, according to state news agency RIA.
Ukraine did not directly claim responsibility.