ISW: satellite footage shows at least eight aircraft destroyed following blasts at Russian air base in Crimea

Alleged satellite footage of the Saki Air Base in Crimea has appeared on social media.

BBC Russian notes that the footage by US-based company Planet Labs shows large patches of scorched earth and at least eight aircraft that look completely destroyed or seriously damaged.

The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) agrees with BBC Russian.

Satellite imagery confirmed reports from Ukraine’s air force that the attack destroyed at least eight Russian aircraft,

contradicting Russian claims that the explosions did not damage any aircraft and were not the result of an attack, the ISW says.

The pictures also show several craters, the majority of which are grouped in a specific area of the air base where aircraft were parked in the open, BBC Russian writes. According to preliminary data, the main airstrips of the air base have remained intact, the reporters note.

However, it is hard to determine how many equipment units were fully destroyed and what is the extent of the damage, the news outlet points out. ISW was also unable to determine the exact causes of the explosions at the air base. “Satellite imagery depicts multiple craters and scorch marks, but such damage could have been caused by many things — special forces, partisans, or missiles, on-site or from a distance.”

The Russian forces at the air base likely already know what happened, but may not yet understand how or from exactly where Ukrainian forces conducted the attack, ISW concludes.

On 9 August, explosions were heard in the area of the Novofedorivka village in Crimea. Novofedorivka is located about 12 miles away from Yevpatoria. The village is home to Russia’s Saki Air Base. One person was killed in the attack, 14 were injured.

Ukraine’s General Staff reported yesterday that nine aircraft had been destroyed at the Russian airbase. According to the Ukrainian army officials, Ukraine also destroyed 15 Russian tanks, 10 armoured personnel carriers, seven artillery systems and nine drones.

The Russian Defence Ministry maintains that “several aviation munitions detonated at an enclosed storage site” on the territory of the air base and that there was no “fire impact” on the airfield. No aviation equipment was damaged in the attack, the ministry stated.

For its part, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry noted that they could not “determine the cause of the fire”. “However, once again, [the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence] would like to remind citizens about fire safety rules and the ban on smoking in unauthorised locations. The fact of the fire may be used by the terrorist state in an information war,” the Ukrainian defence officials said.

Ukrainian Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk also commented on the situation, saying that the blasts in Novofedorivka serve as “another reminder of whom Crimea belongs to”.