Ukraine Pounds Russia’s Rear, Destroying Su-24M at Saky Airfield and Drone Relay Stations

Ukraine destroyed a Russian Su-24M combat aircraft and four pieces of airfield equipment at the Saky military airfield in temporarily occupied Crimea, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on August 22.

The Ukrainian President said the attacks are aimed at steadily eroding Russia’s military infrastructure and the economic resources sustaining its war effort.

“Ukrainian long-range sanctions continue to limit Russia’s military and economic potential, ensuring the aggressor state feels the impact of the war more directly.”

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had also struck the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery roughly 1,000 kilometers from the front line over the previous 24 hours, along with a logistics facility in Russia’s Samara region and targets in the Black Sea.

“Over the past 24 hours, our forces struck the Novokuybyshevsk refinery—1,000 kilometers from the front line—depriving the Russian war machine of millions of dollars in export revenues. We also hit a logistics hub in the Samara region and targets in the Black Sea.”

He also disclosed confirmed results from earlier Ukrainian operations, including the strike on the Saky airfield and attacks against infrastructure used to support Russian drone operations.

“Previous strikes have yielded confirmed results: at the Saky airfield, a Su-24M aircraft and four pieces of airfield equipment were destroyed, while in the Bryansk region, we took out drone-control relay stations used by the occupiers to guide strike UAVs toward peaceful Ukrainian cities and villages.”

The Su-24M, known to NATO as the Fencer-D, is a Soviet-designed supersonic strike aircraft built for all-weather, low-altitude attack missions. Its most distinctive features are variable-sweep wings and a side-by-side cockpit seating the pilot alongside the navigator-weapons officer.

The upgraded Su-24M variant incorporates the Tigr-N targeting and navigation system, allowing it to employ guided weapons, while an in-flight refueling probe extends its operational range. The aircraft can carry up to roughly 7,000 kilograms of ordnance across eight hardpoints, including guided missiles, bombs, rockets and other air-to-surface weapons.

Powered by two turbojet engines, the Su-24M can reach speeds of around 1,700 kilometers per hour at altitude and approximately 1,400 kilometers per hour closer to the ground.

Despite its Soviet-era origins, the aircraft remains relevant in the current war. Russia continues to operate Su-24-family aircraft for strike missions, while Ukraine has adapted its own Su-24M fleet to carry Western-supplied Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG long-range cruise missiles.

Aircraft of this type remain capable of delivering substantial weapons loads and conducting long-range strike missions.

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Zelenskyy also said earlier Ukrainian attacks in Russia’s Bryansk region destroyed relay stations used to control and guide drones involved in attacks against Ukrainian cities and settlements.

The Saky airfield has repeatedly served as an important base for Russian military aviation in occupied Crimea and has been targeted several times during Ukraine’s campaign against Russian aircraft and supporting infrastructure.

Zelenskyy credited Ukrainian forces involved in the long-range operations for continuing to erode what Moscow once considered a secure rear.

“I thank all the warriors of Ukraine’s Defense Forces for their effective work and for depriving Russia of its strategic rear.”

Earlier, reports emerged that a Ukrainian cyber attack may have manipulated Russian air defense into downing its own aircraft, leading to the crash of a Russian Su-57 fighter jet in the Moscow region.

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