Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko said on August 10, 2022, that there were 30 Russian fighter jets worth more than $1 billion at the airfield in Russian-occupied Crimea, where several explosions took place yesterday.
Source: Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko
This airfield was one of the key ones for Russian aviation on the peninsula. Previously, there was a base of the Navy of Ukraine, and now, according to Radio Liberty, the 43rd Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces is based there, which consists mainly of Su-30SM, Su-33 fighter planes, and Su-24M bombers.
“The total cost of all military aircraft standing at the airfield exceeds 1 billion US dollars. It takes one and a half years for Russian aircraft factories to produce 30 new fighter-bombers. And if the sanctions regime is effective, then even more, because Russian aircraft factories used a lot of Western and Taiwanese electrical components,” Gerashchenko wrote.
He published pictures taken by a drone a few hours before the explosions. And the list of aircraft that the Russians kept at the airbase.
According to Gerashchenko, it is about:
- Su-30 fighter-bombers – 14 units;
- Su-24M fighter-bombers – 16 units;
- helicopters Mi – 8 – 6 units;
- military transport aircraft – Il-76 – unit.
Satellite images of the Saky airfield in Crimea, made yesterday at 11.10 am, show that more than 30 planes and helicopters were there before the explosion – worth more than $1 billion in total.
It would take over 18 months to replace them even without the sanctions. pic.twitter.com/qMTXJ2ba0G
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 10, 2022
See also: Explosions at a military airbase in Russian-occupied Crimea took place: video
