On Sunday, June 10, for the first time since the beginning of the war, a Ukrainian plane hit a target on the internationally recognized territory of Russia – in the Belgorod area.
The British television channel Sky News, citing a Ukrainian military source, reportsthat as a result of an airstrike the command post was hit:
“Although damage assessment is still ongoing, it is confirmed that this was a direct hit. This is the first air strike carried out by the Ukrainian Air Force on a target on Russian territory.”
Sky News notes that it is unknown what kind of weapons were used and, in particular, whether we were talking about missiles supplied by Western countries. At the end of May, it became known that the largest arms suppliers to Ukraine, including the United States, Great Britain and France, lifted some of the restrictions on the use of their weapons by the Ukrainian military against targets in Russia.
According to reports, Ukrainian aircraft have already repeatedly struck targets in annexed Crimea, using, among other things, British Storm Shadow missiles. Officially, neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian military commented on the Sky News report.
On Sunday afternoon there was a report of a large fire in the Belgorod region. It was alleged that it was preceded by explosions. A number of telegram channels claimed that an ammunition depot might have been hit, Russian authorities said that a non-residential building was on fire, and the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that a drone had been shot down over the Belgorod region.
Meanwhile, on June 8, a Su-57 multirole fighter was hit on the territory of the Akhtubinsk airfield in the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation, located 589 kilometers from the line of combat contact. About it reported Power steering with reference to satellite images of the aircraft parking at the airfield.
Ukrainian intelligence notes that the photographs show how on June 7 the Su-57 was standing intact, and already on June 8, explosion craters and characteristic spots of fire appeared near it as a result of fire damage. The defeat of the Su-57 is the first such case in history.
Information: The Su-57 is Moscow's most modern fighter, which is capable of using Kh-59 and Kh-69 missiles for strikes. The Russian Aerospace Forces have only a few of these combat aircraft in service.
This year the start of deliveries of F-16 fighters to Ukraine is expected. A number of countries, such as the Netherlands and Denmark, have stated that they will not restrict Ukraine from using these aircraft for strikes, including against military targets on Russian territory.
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