The Ukrainians Hammered A Russian Air Base 120 Miles From The Front

Something exploded hundreds of yards behind a Russian air force plane that was rolling down the runway at an air base in the occupied part of the peninsula.

The base is home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet's 43rd Independent Naval Attack Aviation Regiment and other units. Tourists sunbathing on nearby beaches were startled by a pall of black smoke and fireballs rolling into the sky.

The explosions were caused by an accident, according to the Kremlin. There were rapid blasts across the airfield. It was an attack by the Ukrainians. It's not clear how the Ukrainians hit this Russian facility.

They had choices. The Ukrainian armed forces have deployed more and better means of conducting deep strikes in the last five months. The Russians are at risk even a hundred miles away.

Satellite imagery shows that the Saki base housed around a dozen each of the Su 24 and Su 30 fighters, as well as Mi-8 helicopter and the Il-76. If videos and photos of the damaged base are any indication, one of the Su 24s was destroyed in the Tuesday attack along with several support vehicles and possibly one of the base's munitions dumps.

The damage may be more extensive than the initial evidence suggests. The Ukrainian forces raided a Russian base on Tuesday, the latest in a series of attacks that have become more frequent.

The Black Sea Fleet is degrading. In five months of missile and drone strikes, the Ukrainian navy sunk the fleet's flaghip, Moskva, as well as several support ships, amphibious vessels and patrol boats. The Black Sea Fleet headquarters was bombed in the middle of a ceremony marking Russia's annual Navy Day holiday.

The Tuesday attack was a propaganda victory for the Ukranian government. The presence of occupying troops on the territory of Ukrainian Crimea is not compatible with the high tourist season.

The roster of systems the Ukrainians could have used is testimony to their growing capabilities. Fighter-bombers, Tochka missiles, drones, Harpoon and Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles with their secondary land- attack modes are options. It is possible that the Ukrainian army was able to complete the HRIM-2 before the war started.

Fighter-bombers and cruise missiles can be seen overhead, but there is no evidence of them on Tuesday. Missiles and drones are the most likely culprits. The weapons that struck the Russian base were manufactured by the Ukrainians.

The American-made Harpoons might not be ruled out.

Add air bases to the long list of Russian facilities that are no longer safe as the war rages on and the Ukrainians try to shape the battlefield and clear paths for what are, at present, tentative counteroffensives in the east and south.