Ukraine Strikes Russian Air Base Hosting MiG-31K Kinzhal Missile Carriers

Ukrainian forces struck Russia’s Savasleyka military air base in the Nizhny Novgorod region overnight on August 15, where MiG-31K aircraft capable of launching Kh-47M2 Kinzhal ballistic missiles are based, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed.

Footage published by the Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ on August 15 showed a fire near Savasleyka following explosions at the airfield. Local residents also reported explosions in the area during the morning attack.

Savasleyka is a Russian military aviation facility located roughly 12 kilometers northwest of Kulebaki and approximately 650–700 kilometers from Ukraine’s state border. The airfield hosts a branch of Russia’s 4th State Center for Aviation Personnel Training and Military Testing and operates several variants of the MiG-31 interceptor.

Among them are MiG-31K aircraft modified to carry Russia’s Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, an air-launched ballistic missile repeatedly used in strikes against Ukraine.

An open-source monitoring channel reported on August 15 that Russia moved four MiG-31K aircraft away from Savasleyka after the attack began. The aircraft reportedly flew toward Begishevo Airport in Tatarstan.

In a statement published on Telegram on August 15, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s long-range strikes had reached Savasleyka, describing the airfield as a base for aircraft carrying Russian missiles used to strike Ukrainian cities and villages. He placed the facility at about 700 kilometers from Ukraine.

The latest attack came as strikes were also reported hundreds of kilometers farther east in Russia’s Samara region, where one of the missiles struck the main production building of the Progress Rocket Space Center.

Progress is part of Russia’s state-owned Roscosmos corporation and manufactures Soyuz-2 carrier rockets. The rockets are used for civilian launches as well as missions from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome that place Russian military satellites into orbit.

The facility is also involved in producing Earth-observation spacecraft, including the Bars-M military reconnaissance satellite series.

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