By KYIV. Aug 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian strike on the Peskov airfield indicates that Russian air defenses have not adapted to defend against repeated Ukrainian drone strikes, in contrast with how Russian air defenses in Crimea have adapted, according to analysts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
It is reported that Ukrainian forces reportedly destroyed four Russian Il-76 planes during a drone strike on a Russian airfield in Pskov region on the night of August 29 to August 30. In general, ISW says with reference to Russian data, more than twenty Ukrainian drones tried to attack this airfield.
“Russian sources, including the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), claimed that Russian air defenses and electronic warfare (EW) systems also downed Ukrainian drones over Oryol, Tula, Voronezh, Ryazan, Kaluga, Bryansk, and Moscow regions,” the review says.
Thus, the ISW suggests that “Russian forces may have focused their air defenses on covering Moscow and somehow missed the unusually large number of Ukrainian drones that reportedly struck the Pskov airfield.”
In addition, analysts note the growing concern in the Russian Federation that there are no safe places in the west of the country due to the growing technical capabilities of Ukraine. It is assumed that the Russian forces should take this into account when ensuring the security of military and strategic facilities.
