Editor’s note: The previously published footage, provided by an SBU source, was allegedly related to a different operation and was deleted after the mistake was identified.

Drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck the Kirovske military airfield in occupied Crimea overnight on June 28, the SBU told the Kyiv Independent.

The attack destroyed Mi-8, Mi-26 and Mi-28 attack helicopters, and a Pantsyr-S1 self-propelled anti-aircraft missile and gun system, the SBU claimed.

According to the SBU, Ukraine targeted Russian aviation, air defense systems, as well as ammunition, reconnaissance and attack drones storage facilities.

Secondary explosions were heard at the airfield during the night.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.

As Russia intensifies aerial attacks on Ukraine and the civilian death toll climbs, Ukraine has stepped up its drone attacks on Russian territory too.

Earlier on June 27, Ukrainian drones struck four Su-34 fighter jets at the Marinovka airfield in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast, according to the military.

Preliminary reports indicate that two Russian fighter jets were destroyed in the June 27 attack, and the other two were damaged. Russia uses the aircraft to bomb Ukraine.

Since the start of its full-scale war in February 2022, Russia has lost 420 airplanes and 337 helicopters, Ukraine’s General Staff said in its latest update on June 28. The Kyiv Independent could not verify these figures.

A Russian air force Sukhoi Su-34 takes off with four KAB glide bombs under its wings. Zvezda capture

On June 1, the Ukrainian state security service—the SBU—smuggled long-haul trucks full of explosive first-person-view drones close to five Russian air bases, the farthest around 3,700 miles from Ukraine.

Around 100 of the tiny FPVs, each weighing just a few pounds, swarmed the bases. Relaying signals back to their operators via Russia’s own cellular phone network, the drones homed in on Russian air force strategic bombers and other warplanes parked on the bases’ tarmacs.

When the smoke cleared, satellite imagery confirmed no fewer than 13 planes had been destroyed. The losses included 11 irreplaceable Tupolev Tu-22M and Tu-95 strategic bombers: around 14% of Russia’s active bombers.

Three weeks later on Friday, the SBU and Ukraine’s special operations command, the SSO, struck again—and knocked out as many as four Russian air force Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers at Marinovka air base in Volgorod Oblast, 180 miles from the front line in Ukraine.

On June 27, Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU) announced that, in cooperation with the Special Operations Forces (SOF), a special operation was carried out at Marinovka airfield in russia’s Volgograd region.

As a result, two Su-34 frontline bombers were destroyed, and two more were damaged.

It was emphasized that the aircraft were struck using long-range drones. This points to a well-planned operation in which the enemy aircraft were hit while still on the ground, before they had a chance to take off.

Now, the OSINT community CyberBoroshno has released telling satellite imagery that confirms the aircraft were indeed hit.

First, analysts shared a Sentinel-1 image showing that aircraft were clearly present at the strike site just two days before the SSU and SOF operation at Marinovka airfield.

As for the image dated June 29, it shows distinctive blast marks at the site where one of the bombers had been stationed, most likely caused by the detonation of the Su-34’s external munitions.

The outcome of the strike helps explain the outcry from russian military blogger and pilot Ilya Fighterbomber Tumanov, who lamented “multi-billion-ruble losses that could and should have been avoided,” adding that “there’s no point in commenting on Marinovka at all.”

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Ukrainian Forces Strike russian Airfield in Volgograd Region, Damaging the Su-34 Jets

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A Russian Mil Mi-26. Via Wikimedia Commons

First, they came for Russia’s bombers. Next, they went after Russia’s fighter-bombers. Now, the operatives from Ukraine’s state security service, the SBU, have targeted Russian helicopters and drones at their base in occupied Crimea. All in the span of three weeks.

The SBU’s deep-strike campaign, targeting Russia’s own strike assets, is widening.

On Friday night, the SBU’s long-range attack drones “dealt another painful blow to the occupiers,” according to the service. Drones struck the Russian airfield at Kirovske, 130 miles from the front line in southern Ukraine.

“Fire damage was inflicted on the locations of the aviation component, air-defense systems, ammunition storage depots, as well as reconnaissance and strike UAVs of the enemy,” the SBU reported.