Video has been posted on social media purporting to show overnight Ukrainian attacks on a Russian air force base at Morozovsk, in Rostov Oblast, which is situated around 190 miles away from the nearest territory controlled by Kyiv.
The attacks were confirmed on Telegram by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who said warehouses storing ammunition, including powerful glide bombs, were hit and that “information regarding the destruction of air-defense equipment and enemy aviation is being clarified.”
According to the announcement the attack was a joint operation involving the Security Service of Ukraine, Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Russian troops are continuing to attack their Ukrainian counterparts on at least two fronts in the eastern Donbass region and further north around Kharkiv, as they seek a breakthrough after nearly two and a half years of intense fighting. Moscow’s forces have made some advances, capturing villages in Donetsk Oblast and advancing toward Chasiv Yar, but at the cost of high casualties.
Anton Gerashchenko, formerly an adviser to the Ukrainian internal affairs minister, posted video on X which he claimed showed the aftermath of a drone attack on Morozovsk airfield as well as other military operations.
Russian media report drone attacks on several objects in Russia last night:
◾️military airfield in Morozovsk, Rostov region of Russia;
◾️ammunition warehouse in Orlovsk region of Russia;
◾️”Atlas Plant” of the Federal Agency for State Reserves Directorate for the Southern… pic.twitter.com/sYKPbwoycL— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 3, 2024
Video was also shared on X by the Tendar conflict monitoring account, which has over 360,000 followers, purportedly showing secondary explosions at Morozovsk in the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack suggesting ammunition dumps had been hit.
The account wrote: “The secondary explosions coming from the Morozovsk airfield and seen on several videos are substantial. This is heavy ordnance cooking off. It will be interesting to study the satellite pictures.”
The secondary explosions coming from the Morozovsk airfield and seen on several videos are substantial. This is heavy ordnance cooking off. It will be interesting to study the satellite pictures. pic.twitter.com/eGTN1719Pr
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) August 3, 2024
Professor Phillips P. O’Brien, who teaches strategic studies at the University of St Andrews in the U.K., said the Morozovsk air base was “lit up like a Christmas tree” with “many secondary explosions” following the overnight attack in a post on his Substack blog.
O’Brien added that based on available information “we can assume that ammunition stocks went up, and the chance of Russian aircraft being damaged is very high.
“Moreover, with such extensive fires, the chance of maintenance and repair facilities being destroyed is very high as well.”
SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/GETTY
In its statement the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also claimed its forces had hit “number of oil depots and fuel and lubricant storage facilities” overnight in the Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions of Russia.
Newsweek contacted the Russian and Ukrainian Defense Ministries for comment by email on Sunday.
On Friday, Russian state run media reported Ukrainian forces had hit a building in Sevastopol, Crimea, using American-made weapons, causing damage, but with no reports of casualties.
The day before, a large inferno engulfed a major oil refinery in the Russian city of Omsk, with footage shared on social media showing the structure being engulfed by large flames.