Scratch One MiG-31 Interceptor! Ukrainian Drones Are Scraping Russian Air Power Off Crimea.
But that doesn't mean the Russians are about to lose the peninsula.
On the night of Dec. 17, long-range drones from the Ukrainian state security agency—the same SBU that recently attacked a submarine in southern Russia—devastated Belbek air base in Russian-occupied Crimea, 150 miles from the southern front line.
The SBU claimed it destroyed a Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptor as well as a Pantsir air-defense vehicle and three radars. “The elimination of the components of this echeloned system significantly weakens the enemy's defense and military capabilities in the Crimean direction,” the agency stated.
It’s true. Crimea is not safe for Russian aircraft. A relentless campaign of deep strikes by the SBU and other Ukrainian special forces agencies has systematically scraped away Russian air defenses in Crimea, leaving the 100 or so warplanes on the peninsula exposed to follow-on attacks.
