Ukraine Drone Strike Destroyed Russian MiG-29 at Crimea’s Belbek Air Base, Video

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) said on July 4 that one of its drone operations destroyed a Russian MiG-29 fighter jet at the Belbek air base in temporarily occupied Crimea during a strike carried out overnight on June 25–26.

According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR), the operation was conducted by its Department of Unmanned Systems against the Belbek military airfield near Sevastopol. The agency released video footage that it said shows the strike on the aircraft.

HUR stated that the attack destroyed a Russian MiG-29 and also hit an airfield launch vehicle that was servicing the fighter at the time of the strike.

“By one strike, HUR special operators also burned an airfield launch unit—the vehicle was servicing a combat aircraft of the Russian occupiers at the moment it was hit.”

The agency estimated that Russia’s losses from the operation amount to “tens of millions of dollars.” HUR did not specify the type of drone used or provide additional operational details.

The announcement comes days after Ukraine reported a series of long-range strikes targeting Russian military aviation infrastructure in temporarily occupied Crimea. On July 1, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it had struck aircraft shelters at the Saky air base, while on July 3 the agency reported another attack on Saky as well as the Hvardiiske air base.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian forces have destroyed 436 Russian aircraft and 353 helicopters. Russia has not commented on HUR’s latest claim, and the reported destruction of the MiG-29 has not been independently verified.

Protect Ukrainian Skies

Subscribe to Sky Defense