Ukraine says it has destroyed glide bombs at a Russian air base from which planes take off to bomb the front lines

• Ukraine attacked a Russian air base in the Volgograd region with long-range drones overnight.

• According to a Ukrainian security source, the attack involved explosions in warehouses where glide bombs were stored.

• It appears this is Ukraine’s latest attempt to attack military facilities in Russia.

Ukrainian forces attacked a key Russian air base overnight with long-range drones, destroying storage facilities containing fuel, ammunition and highly destructive glider bombs.

The attack targeted Marynivka airport in Russia’s Volgograd region, a site actively used to launch aircraft that bomb the front lines, a source in Ukraine’s security service told Business Insider on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operations.

It seemed to be the last event of Ukraine long range attack at an important military installation in Russia.

The SBU source said the attack was a joint effort of the SBU and the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine. The strikes on the Russian airfield caused explosions in warehouses where guided bombs, ammunition and fuel were stored, during the night and morning.

Video footage is circulating on social media showing black people. plumes of smoke rise from the airport. However, Business Insider was unable to independently verify the details of the video.

“The SBU is working with surgical precision on the airfields from which the enemy attacks Ukraine,” the source said, according to a translation of comments shared with BI. He added that any attack like this “reduces Russian air superiority and significantly limits their air capabilities.”

Ukraine is prohibited from using its arsenal of powerful, Western-made missiles to invade Russia. To circumvent these restrictions, Kiev has relied heavily on locally produced, long-range attack drones to wage a months-long campaign targeting Moscow’s military and energy facilities.

During this campaign, Ukraine specifically attempted to counter the threat of Russian glider bombs.

Glide bombs are dumb bombs that are equipped with special kits to convert them into precision-guided munitions. They are very destructive (Russia has a number of weighing over 6,000 pounds in battle) and are difficult to intercept because they have relatively short flight times, a small radar signature and a non-ballistic trajectory, which poses a challenge to air defense units.

Russia has used his glide bombs to inflict damage For much of the war, both Ukrainian troop positions and civilian infrastructure were targeted. These worrying weapons have become particularly problematic in recent months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia more than 750 glide bombs in a single week earlier this month.

Since glide bombs are notoriously difficult to stop, the only way for Ukraine to actually stop them is eliminate the threat is to shoot down the Russian fighter-bombers before they fire their ammunition, or to hit the planes – and the bombs – on the ground at their airfields.

Ukraine has carried out a number of attacks in recent months aimed at airports in Russia where fighter-bombers and gliders are kept, including the most recent attack on Marynivka.

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