The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said Ukraine was now seeking steady “kinetic results” well behind Russian lines in the ongoing war that began on February 24. implications for the Russian leadership,” the official said. Newsweek was unable to independently verify the losses of the Russian jet and reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for confirmation and comment. Saki airport was hit by a series of explosions on August 9, which Russia’s defense ministry attributed to detonated aviation munitions. State news agency Ria Novosti reported at the time that one person was killed and several others were injured, but Russia denied that a plane was downed, according to the Associated Press. Above, members of the Russian navy patrol in front of the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea on July 31, 2022. More than half of Russia’s naval aviation warplanes from its Black Sea Fleet were knocked out in a series explosions at a Russian air base in Crimea earlier this month, according to a Western official cited in a Reuters report on Friday. STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images However, there are anecdotal indications that this is not the case. The British Ministry of Defense said in its August 12 intelligence briefing that at least five Su-24 FENCER fighter-bombers and three SU-30 FLANKER H multi-role aircraft were “almost certainly destroyed or severely damaged in the explosions” at Saki. “The loss of eight fighters represents a small percentage of Russia’s total aircraft fleet in support of the war,” the update said. “However, [Saki] it was mainly used as a base for the aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. The naval aviation capability of the fleet is now significantly degraded.” The briefing added that the explosions “will likely prompt the Russian military to revise its perception of the threat.” “Crimea has probably been seen as a safe rear area,” he said. Newsweek was unable to independently verify the information. Russia annexed Crimea, which lies on the northern Black Sea coast, in 2014 and has pushed for international recognition that it is part of Russia ever since. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised in a speech on August 9 after the explosions that Ukraine would never leave Crimea. “This Russian war against Ukraine and against all of free Europe began with Crimea and must end with Crimea—with its liberation,” he said, according to an English translation. “Today it is impossible to say when that will happen. But we are constantly adding the necessary ingredients to its formula [the] liberation of Crimea”.
