On 25 February 2022, the Russian air base in Millerovo,

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblastʹ, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, was attacked by Ukrainian forces during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. According to some Ukrainian officials, Ukrainian military forces attacked the Millerovo air base with

OTR-21 Tochka OTR-21 ''Tochka'' () is a Soviet Union, Soviet tactical ballistic missile. Its GRAU designation is 9K79. Its NATO reporting name is the SS-21 Scarab. One missile is transported per 9P129 vehicle and raised prior to launch. It uses an inertial gu ...

missiles, destroying

Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...

planes and setting the airbase on fire.

Background

Millerovo is a town in

in Russia, about 60 kilometers from

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...

, a territory in the Donbas region bordering Russia and partially Russian-rebel held since the beginning of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

Attack

A local law enforcement agency source told local outlet ''

Komsomolskaya Pravda ''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (; ) is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper that was founded in 1925. Its name is in reference to the official Soviet newspaper '' Pravda'' (English: 'Truth'). History and profile During the Soviet era, ''Komsomolskaya ...

'' that a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile had hit the facility. Another local outlet, ''Rostov Gazeta'', reported that the attack was carried out by Ukrainian armed formations.

Analysis

Editor-in-chief edition of Ukrainian largest online media Censor.net Yuriy Butusov called the attack "One of the most successful Armed Forces of Ukraine operations in the history of war" and "defeat, which Putin will not be able to hide". The attack, which the

Ukrainian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

did not officially comment on, was reportedly launched in response to the shelling of Ukrainian cities by Russian forces.

Aftermath

Multiple people were reported to be wounded, and one pilot reportedly died later of his wounds. At least one

Sukhoi Su-30 The Sukhoi Su-30 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weath ...

SM was destroyed on the ground per tweeted images. However, Ukrainian officials and military experts have claimed that at least two Russian Su-30SM fighters were destroyed on the ground. NASA FIRMS 2024-07-20 Millerovo

The airfield was bombed again by Ukraine on 20 July 2024 in a drone strike, with several fires seen on the runway by locals.

References

{{Russian invasion of Ukraine February 2022 in Russia History of Rostov Oblast 2022 airstrikes Attacks on airbases in Russia Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Attacks on military installations in 2022 Ukrainian airstrikes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Military operations involving airports Military operations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022

Background

Attack

Analysis

Aftermath

See also

References