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On the night of April 17, the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the close-in support of the NATO military launched attack on the Russian military airfield in the town of Dzhankoi in Crimea. As a result of the attack, several powerful explosions thundered and a large fire broke out in the area.
According to the reports by the local residents, explosions sounded for about an hour. Russian military sources soon revealed important details of the attack.
The airport came under the attack of the US-made MGM-140 ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles. The first explosion sounded at about 3:40 a.m. Moscow time and the attack lasted about an hour.
The were reportedly launched in two waves from the Ukrainian-controlled areas in the Kherson region. According to some sources close to the Russian military, in total, 12 ATACMS were used in the attack. The first wave of strikes reportedly involved seven missiles, apparently with cluster warheads, and at least five more missiles were launched in the second wave. There were no reports about the interception of any missiles. The Russian military is yet to officially comment on the attack.
The local sources confirmed damage to the military facility. At least one of the buildings was damaged. The main targets of the attack were likely the air defense systems deployed at the airfield. The alleged photo from the spot shows the destroyed S–400 Triumph air defense system. 3 launchers and radars were reportedly destroyed.
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The second wave of strikes reportedly targeted the point of repair of military equipment of the 77th anti–aircraft missile brigade deployed in the area, where two S-300 launchers were being repaired there. The secondary detonation of ammunition was heard in the town. Any damage to the depots at the airfield are yet to be confirmed.
The military airfield belongs to the 39th Helicopter Regiment of the 4th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense. There is no information about the damage to the aircraft.
According to unconfirmed reports, as of this morning, about 15 Russian servicemen were wounded, and another 22 were considered missing.
The attack was launched by the US-made missiles, with the close support of US military reconnaissance. Most likely, the US military coordinated and launched the strikes on the ground.
If the attack was launched from the Ukrainian military positions in the Kherson region, both MGM-140A with a range of up to 165 km and MGM-140B with the range of 300 km could be used for the strikes.
The American RQ-4B drone and the Boeing P-8a Poseidon NATO long-range radar reconnaissance aircraft was spotted over the Black Sea during the attack.
The Ukrainian/NATO military is preparing for a larger attack on the peninsula. Kiev announced that it is preparing another terrorist attack on the Crimean peninsula used by the civilian population. The main goal of the strike in Dzhankoy was to weaken Russian air defense before attacking the Crimean Bridge. On April 15, two Storm Shadow missiles were intercepted in the area of the port city of Berdyansk in the Zaporozhie region. Then, the Ukrainian military was probing Russian air defense.
