Overview
- The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Wednesday that five drone strikes struck aircraft hangars at the Saki air base in Russian-occupied Crimea and that a fire broke out in the hangar where a Su-30SM was parked.
- The SBU identified Su-30 and Su-30SM fighters as present in two of the targeted hangars and published estimated unit values of $30 million to $50 million to frame the strikes as an economic hit to Russian forces.
- Independent verification of damage or aircraft losses is limited in public sources, though NASA thermal data reviewed by one outlet showed a heat anomaly near the base after the reported attack.
- Saki is a key Russian aviation hub on the western Crimean coast whose Su-30SM fighters give Moscow range to strike southern Ukraine, so attacks on hangars seek to reduce Russia’s ability to launch long-range air missions.
- The SBU said the operation is part of a sustained, time-bound campaign approved by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a pattern that follows earlier long-range Ukrainian strikes on Crimea that have targeted air and industrial sites.