James Malsin
WSJ, Dec. 5, 2022
“Since October, Russia has repeatedly launched large-scale aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities using long-range missiles and drones, with many of the attacks targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.”
Ukrainian drones hit two Russian air bases on Monday, Russia’s defense ministry said, while Ukrainian officials hinted at a capability to strike deeper within Russian territory and Moscow launched a major barrage of missiles at Ukrainian cities. The defense ministry said three Russian servicemen were killed and four were wounded in attacks by Soviet-era drones on the two bases, one in Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, and one in Russia’s Saratov region.
The Engels air base in Saratov, a hub for Russia’s fleet of strategic bombers, has been used to launch air raids and missile strikes on Ukraine. Russia has used the long-range aircraft stationed at the base to fire cruise missiles at Ukraine, military analysts say. The bombers are also capable of carrying nuclear weapons, forming part of Russia’s triad of nuclear forces along with land-based and submarine-launched nuclear missiles.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosions, and Ukrainian officials on Monday made only oblique references to the explosions at the Russian air bases, as they have with past strikes inside Russia.
“If something is launched into other countries’ airspace, sooner or later unknown flying objects will return to departure point,” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a tweet.
Ukraine hasn’t formally acknowledged past strikes inside Russia’s borders, choosing to maintain a cloud of ambiguity around such attacks.
There is no evidence that U.S.-provided weaponry was used in the strikes. The U.S. since June has supplied Ukrainian forces with 20 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers, or Himars, and a large inventory of satellite-guided rockets with a range of almost 50 miles. Those rockets, known as the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, have been used to strike Russian ammunition depots, logistics supplies and command centers on Ukrainian territory. U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal that the Pentagon has modified the Himars launchers so they can’t fire long-range missiles, showing the lengths the Biden administration has gone to balance its support for Ukraine’s forces against the risk of escalation with Moscow. … [To read the full article, click here]