On 9 September, the British Defense Ministry released an intelligence update detailing the impact of a Ukrainian strike on Marinovka Air Base in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast, which took place on 22 August. The update shows the attack caused significant destruction to key infrastructure and military equipment at the facility, including damage to hangars and storage facilities.
This year, Ukraine has ramped up drone strikes on key Russian facilities, including military airfields, and oil storage and processing sites. Strikes on airbases such as Marinovka in Volgograd, Morozovsk in Rostov Oblast, and Engels in Saratov Oblast caused significant damage to infrastructure critical for Russia’s bombing operations. As Western partners prohibit using supplied missiles on Russian soil, Ukraine is trying to compensate with its domestically developed drone technology.
The British Defense Ministry reported that the Ukrainian attack resulted in the destruction of four aircraft shelters, the damaging of three more, and the destruction of a radome, support buildings, and open storage facilities.
Earlier reports on the Marinovka attack
Early reports from local sources on 22 August indicated that Ukrainian drones struck the airbase, causing multiple explosions and fires. Thermal anomaly data further suggested that fires broke out in the parking areas, ammunition warehouses, and fuel depots at the base. Marinovka Air Base, located approximately 440 kilometers from the Ukrainian front line, houses the Russian Aerospace Forces, including the 11th Composite Aviation Regiment and the 2nd Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron.
Later the same day, a source from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) told Ukrinform that the SBU and Special Operations Forces (SOF) were responsible for the drone attack on the airbase. The strike reportedly destroyed warehouses containing guided aerial bombs and fuel, significantly impacting Russian military operations.
Related:
- Russia’s Marinovka air base attacked by SBU and SOF, bomb and fuel depots destroyed, source reveals
- Fires and detonations at Russia’s Marinovka airbase after drone attack (video)
- Mayor of Moscow claims one of largest attempts to attack Russian capital
- Ukrainian military hit Lipetsk air base, ordnance warehouses wiped out
- Satellite images confirm strikes on Kursk aviation and artillery warehouses prior to incursion
- Russia’s guided bombs and air-to-air missiles eliminated at Morozovsk air base, photos show
- Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s Morozovsk airfield, oil depot in Rostov Oblast (video)
- Drones damage energy infrastructure in Russia’s Volgograd and Rostov oblasts