At least eight Russian warplanes appear to have been damaged or destroyed in the recent attack on Saky airbase in Crimea, according to newly released satellite images, in contrast to Russian claims that none were damaged.
Late on Wednesday Ukraine’s air force said at least nine Russian aircraft were destroyed on the ground following Tuesday’s dramatic explosions at the Saky airbase, which Russia said killed one, wounded 14 and damaged dozens of nearby houses.
Kyiv has not publicly claimed responsibility for the attack – although it is doing so in private – while an adviser to the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has suggested partisans might have been involved.
Zelenskiy referred to the attack in his Wednesday evening address. “In just one day, the occupiers lost 10 combat aircraft: nine in Crimea and one more in the direction of Zaporizhzhia,” he said.
Russia has sought to downplay the attack, denying any aircraft were damaged in the blasts and conceding only that “several aviation munitions detonated” in a storage area at the facility.
Credit: theguardian.com
