(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Ukraine Invasion Day 772: drone strikes in UKR and in RU [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-04-05 Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Ukrainian forces reportedly conducted one of the largest series of drone strikes against military facilities within Russia, targeting at least four Russian airbases, on the night of April 4 to 5. Ukrainian media reported that sources within Ukrainian security services, including the Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR), stated that the SBU and Ukrainian forces conducted successful strikes on airfields near Kursk City and Yeysk, Krasnodar Krai; the Engels Airbase in Saratov Oblast; and the Morozovsk Airbase in Rostov Oblast.[1] Vulnerable part of Russia: April 2 Potentially vulnerable territory of Russia April 2, 2024 - more than 1,350,000 km² Russian territory that became potentially vulnerable from March 16 to April 2 Potentially vulnerable territory of Russia March 16, 2024 These Ukrainian security sources reportedly stated that the Ukrainian drone strikes significantly damaged three Tu-95MS strategic bombers at Engels airbase, damaged two Su-25 fixed-wing aircraft at the airbase near Yeysk, and destroyed six unidentified aircraft and significantly damaged another eight unidentified aircraft at the Morozovsk Airbase.[2] The Ukrainian strikes reportedly killed four Russian military personnel at the airbase near Yeysk and seven Russian personnel at the Engels Airbase and wounded and killed up to 20 Russian personnel at the Morozovsk Airbase.[3] Geolocated footage shows explosions and Russian air defenses activating near all the airbases except for the one near Yeysk.[4] ISW has not yet observed any visual confirmation that Ukrainian forces damaged or destroyed aircraft or infrastructure at any of the airbases. Satellite imagery collected on April 4 indicates that there were three Tu-160 heavy strategic bombers, five Tu-95 strategic bombers, an Il-76 transport aircraft, and a Tu-22 bomber at Engels Airbase; ten L-39 training and combat aircraft, five An-26 transport aircraft, an An-74 transport aircraft, an An-12 transport aircraft, four Su-27 fixed-winged aircraft, four Su-25 fixed-wing aircraft, one Su-30 fixed-wing aircraft, and several Ka-52 and Mi-8 helicopters at the Yeysk Airbase; and 29 fixed-wing aircraft, primarily Su-34s, at the Morozovsk airfield.[5] The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Russian forces intercepted 44 drones over Rostov Oblast, six drones over Krasnodar Krai, and a drone each in Saratov, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts on the night of April 4 and into the morning on April 5.[6] Ukrainian drone strikes have typically only targeted individual airbases within Russia, and Ukraine’s ability to strike four separate airbases in one strike series represents a notable inflection in the capabilities that Ukrainian forces are employing in their campaign against Russian military infrastructure, critical infrastructure, and strategic industries within Russia. x Ukraine 🇺🇦 for the first time used their new long range kamikaze drone the E-300 “Enterprise” that has a range of 3100km and a 300kg warhead on Russia There will be a lot of long range strikes on Russia as production increases pic.twitter.com/KxQr6eS3Ru — Ukraine Battle Map (@ukraine_map) April 4, 2024 Russian forces conducted missile and drone strikes against Ukraine overnight on April 4 to 5 and during the day on April 5. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched two S-300/S-400 air defense missiles and three Iskander-M missiles from Belgorod Oblast and 13 Shahed 136/131 drones from occupied Cape Chauda, Crimea, overnight.[72] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces shot down all 13 Shahed drones. Ukrainian authorities reported that two S-300 missiles struck Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, and that strikes also damaged energy infrastructure in Odesa Oblast overnight.[73] The Ukrainian National Police reported that Russian forces conducted two separate missile strikes against Zaporizhzhia City during the day on April 5; Russian forces launched three missiles at a residential building and then launched two additional missiles a short time later after emergency services arrived at the impact site.[74] Russian forces conducted similar ”double tap” missile strikes against Kharkiv City on April 4 and Odesa City on March 15.[75] understandingwar.org/... [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/4/5/2233656/-Ukraine-Invasion-Day-772-drone-strikes-in-UKR-and-in-RU?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/