On August 19, a Tu-22 M3 medium bomber of the Russian long-range aviation was apparently destroyed at the Soltsy air base in the Novgorod region, British intelligence reports. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the facility was attacked by a drone.


If this information proves to be true, it could reinforce speculation that some drone attacks on Russian military targets may originate from Russian territory. It is noted that copter drones have limited capabilities to reach the Soltsy airbase, which is located outside of Russia.


This incident is at least the third case of a successful attack on long-range airfields, which calls into question Russia's ability to effectively defend its strategic facilities deep inside the country.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 22 August 2023<br><br>Find out more about Defence Intelligence&#39;s use of language: <a href="https://t.co/WYHfB5NZIN">https://t.co/WYHfB5NZIN</a><br><br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithUkraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithUkraine</a><a href="https://t.co/Ab4QQUyeMF">pic.twitter.com/Ab4QQUyeMF</a></p>&mdash; Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1693864216107643122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>