Ukraine claims major strike on Russian airfields
- 19 October, 02:00
Ukrainian Special Forces on Tuesday claimed striking nine Russian helicopters in what appears to be the largest attack on Russian air assets since the beginning of the war.
The helicopters, an air defense system, and an ammunition warehouse were struck in two Russian airfields in Berdyansk, a southern city in the Zaporizhzhia region and eastern Luhansk region. The Ukrainian forces also damaged airfield runways, Ukraine said, in what it called “Operation Dragonfly.” Russian military bloggers described the attacks as the major assault in Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country used US-supplied long-range missiles, known as ATACMS, for the first time in this attack.
Zelenskiy thanked the Ukrainian air forces for the attack and thanked the United States for providing long-range weapons. “I thank some of our partners. That is indeed an effective weapon, as we agreed,” he said in a nightly address posted on social media. Zelenskiy stressed that ATACMS ballistic missiles have performed “very accurately. “ATCMS have proven themselves,” he said. Zelenskiy’s announcement came after a US official announced the delivery of long-range missiles long though by Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian-appointed governor of the occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaproizhzhia region Vladimir Rogov said air defence systems "successfully intercepted enemy rockets" over Berdyansk”.
