Explosion at Belbek airfield: Russian airbase likely destroyed, out of action longterm — Defense Express

He shared the information on Espreso TV.

“The satellite can show the damage to the anti-aircraft missile system, which was there, apparently. Particularly, under fire were fuel and lubricants. A warehouse with aviation weapons was probably also struck. If this information is confirmed, it means that not only ATACMS, but also Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles were used. Such things are their main targets. If that’s the case, it was a well-planned combined attack, during which ATACMS destroyed the air defense area guarding the airfield, the aircraft themselves, and then all other targets were hit. That is, if this entire list of targets is confirmed, we are talking about the complete destruction of the entire airbase and its disabling for a rather long period of time,” Katkov said.

According to him, satellite images should soon confirm what exactly was targeted at the Belbek airfield.

“The fact is that yesterday the weather was cloudy there and there are no accurate images from space to assess the extent of the damage. We hope that the weather will be better today, and appropriate satellite images will be taken. But it should be noted that more than one ATACMS with cluster bomblets was used. Therefore, even the satellite images may not show the extent of damage to the aircraft to assess what was really destroyed,” Katkov added.

• During the attack on Crimea on May 15, two MiG-31s, a S-400 and a fuel depot were destroyed.