The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced today that on April 25, the country’s Unmanned Systems Forces carried out a drone strike on the Shagol air base in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, near the Ural Mountains.
The target was located about 1,700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, deep in the Russian rear and far from the active front lines in eastern Ukraine.
The strike hit several fighters, including two Su-57 Felon (NATO reporting name Fellon), Russia’s only operational fifth-generation fighter with fewer than 30 aircraft in service. At least one Su-34 (NATO reporting name FullΙback) strike aircraft and another Sukhoi fighter of unknown type were also hit.
The damage assessment is ongoing, as the General Staff noted, and the complete destruction of some aircraft has not been confirmed, however independent analyses of commercial satellite images (compared to April 17 and 26) by the Telegram channel Exilenova+ show signs of explosions, debris and Russian crews clearing the area on the runway where the aircraft were parked.
The two Su-57s and the Su-34 were later moved from their original positions, consistent with post-strike recovery and damage control procedures.
Russia has neither confirmed nor denied any losses at the Shagol base. It has reported intercepting some drones in the area, but has remained silent about any damage to aircraft. This is one of the furthest confirmed Ukrainian attacks on Russian targets from Ukrainian territory, highlighting the increased capabilities of Ukrainian unmanned systems in such operations.
