On Friday, August 9, 2024, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed reports from both Ukrainian and Russian sources of an attack by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles on the Russian Lipetsk Airbase in the Lipetsk region, located 282 km from the Ukrainian border.
Lipetsk Airbase before the war / Photo: Vitaly V. Kuzmin
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine successfully struck the military airfield and the air defense equipment of the Russian occupiers.”
“Last night, the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the Lipetsk airfield (Lipetsk region, Russian Federation). During the attack, guided bomb storage facilities and several other targets near the airfield were hit. Multiple explosions were recorded, a large fire broke out, and repeated detonations were observed. It is known that Su-34, Su-35, and MiG-31 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces are stationed at the Lipetsk airfield. The assessment of the attack’s impact is ongoing.”
“Additionally, our units attacked Russian anti-aircraft divisions in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region. In particular, enemy radars were struck: two from the S-350 systems and one from the S-300 system. A direct hit and destruction of one S-350 radar has been confirmed. As for the remaining two targets, the information is currently being clarified. At the same time, it was noted that all three enemy radars ceased functioning after the strikes. (…)”
Earlier, photos and videos depicting strong explosions at the mentioned airbase appeared on social media, and the specific locations of the fires were confirmed by satellite data from NASA’s FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System) used for monitoring fire sources. These locations are somewhat distant from the airport’s runways, where the aerial ammunition depots are actually situated.
https://twitter.com/ukraine_map/status/1821774598892900639
https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1821761032492073097
The governor of the Lipetsk region, Igor Artamonov, confirmed the Ukrainian attack, which resulted in six people being injured. According to him, 19 drones were intercepted by air defense.
It cannot be ruled out that after recent Ukrainian attacks on airbases in Morozovsk in the Rostov region and Millerovo in the Don region, the Russians may have concentrated more aircraft in Lipetsk, which has extensive airport and storage infrastructure.
Another important aspect is the timing of the attack, which occurred while Ukrainian forces were conducting a military operation in the Russian Kursk region. It can therefore be assumed that the attack aimed to weaken Russia’s ability to carry out air strikes on Ukrainian forces operating on Russian territory, further west of Lipetsk.
As an interesting note, Lipetsk is home to the 4th Center for Conversion and Combat Training, which is equipped with the latest multi-role aircraft, including the Su-57 (NATO code: Felon) and the MiG-35. It is worth recalling that during a drone attack on June 8th of this year on the airfield of the 929th State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, named after V. P. Chkalov, in Akhtubinsk in the Astrakhan region, at least two Su-57s were damaged.