Updated
Updated · Defense Express · Aug 17
Ukraine Hits Russian Airbase 680 Kilometers Away, Targeting Kinzhal-Carrying MiG-31Ks
Updated
Updated · Defense Express · Aug 17

Ukraine Hits Russian Airbase 680 Kilometers Away, Targeting Kinzhal-Carrying MiG-31Ks

3 articles · Updated · Defense Express · Aug 17

Summary

  • August 15 strikes set off a massive fire at Russia's Savasleyka airbase in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, a site Ukrainian officials said they successfully hit.
  • ISW said the attack reflects a shift toward systematically striking Russian ballistic-missile launch infrastructure as Ukraine copes with shortages of air- and missile-defense interceptors.
  • Savasleyka hosts a branch of Russia's 4th State Center for Aviation Personnel Training and Military Tests and bases MiG-31K jets armed with Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles.
  • The airfield, about 680 kilometers from Ukraine's border, has been hit repeatedly before, including in August 2024 and again in April and June 2025.

Insights

With Russia halting Kinzhal production, what hidden military vulnerabilities are Ukraine's deep strikes actually exposing?
Can Ukraine's new domestic missiles truly cripple Russia's devastating ballistic threat at its source before interceptors run out?
Could Ukraine's relentless targeting of Russian logistics secretly force Moscow to open a dangerous new drone front from Belarus?