Ukraine’s Strike on Russia’s Military Airfield in Dzhankoi: What We Know So Far

Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) stated Thursday afternoon, April 18, that Kyiv “destroyed or critically damaged” four launchers of Russia’s most powerful air defense system – the S-400 – in its early Wednesday morning attack on Russia’s Dzhankoi military airfield in occupied Crimea.

The about 3:30 a.m. attack took out three radar stations, an air defense equipment control point, and “Fundament-M” airspace surveillance equipment, with casualties still being clarified, HUR said.

The pro-Ukrainian mil blogger Krymsky Viter claimed that at least 30 Russian service personnel died and more than 80 were injured in the strikes and that the wounded were being transported to hospitals in Russia’s main naval base Sevastopol.

Kyiv Post has not been able to confirm these casualty counts. However, multiple sources reported or published images of medevac helicopters operating around the Dzhankoi airfield, where Russia’s 39th Separate Helicopter Regiment is based.

Ukrainian partisans from the ATESН movement confirmed their involvement in the attack in a Telegram post later in the day Wednesday.  

“The occupiers believed in their newest air defense system so much that they placed warehouses with missiles right next to the launcher,” the partisans said.

Multiple videos posted on Telegram by the independent Russian news agency Astra show explosions going off at the airfield.

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Ukrainian lawmakers were advised to limit their presence in the area and were urged to ensure the safety of their families.

“This is a serious harvest and a successful operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” HUR spokesperson Adriy Yusov told Radio Liberty in a report published Thursday afternoon.

Analysts from the Institute of War Studies said that the Ukrainian strikes on Crimea present “a fairly coordinated and wide-reaching series of strikes specifically targeting Russian aviation, air defense, and radar detection capabilities”, in their Russian offensive campaign assessment.

“Russian combat and transport helicopters have provided Russian forces with distinct offensive and defensive battlefield advantages, particularly in southern Ukraine, and are legitimate military targets,” the ISW wrote in its Wednesday report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Ukrainian military for the strike.

“Thank you, soldiers! Thank you for your accuracy. I thank Chief Commander Syrsky for organizing this operation. The occupier must lose, and each of their losses is Ukraine's strength,” he said.

While the weapons used in the attacks have not been disclosed, Russian milbloggers have said that US-made ATACMS missiles were used. Kyiv Post research confirmed that ballistic missiles of some kind struck the base.