Engels Air Force Base-2
Engels Air Force Base-2 The Soviet-era Engels-2 Air Base, named after the communist philosopher Friedrich Engels, is home to Russia’s 121st Heavy Bomber Air Regiment, which includes the Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bomber squadrons whose missiles they have destroyed Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. “Based on the location of the air base, its aircraft have played a significant role in recent bombings in Ukraine,” said Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the US-based Institute for Foreign Policy Research at the facility in the Saratov region – 450 miles to the east. of Ukraine. Li said any Ukrainian attack on the Engels-2 base would likely be aimed at disrupting Russian plans to strike Ukrainian infrastructure. “Ukraine has been warning for weeks that Russia is preparing for a new wave of missile attacks on its energy grid. This could have been a pre-emptive strike,” he said. Engels Air Force Base-2 Citing satellite images from Engels-2, Der Spiegel reported last month that Russia was preparing a new large-scale missile attack on Ukraine. Li estimated that Russia maintained about 15 to 16 Tu-95MS bombers at Engels-2 air base and 15 Tu-160s, which represent the largest share of the country’s Tu-160 arsenal. Gleb Irisov, a former Russian air force lieutenant who left the military in 2020, described Engels-2 as a “key airfield for the country’s strategic aviation.” “If Ukraine was indeed able to hit the base, it shows that the country is making great progress in its ability to reach bases far from the battlefield.”
Dyagilevo Air Base
Dyagilevo Air Base The air base at Dyagilevo, less than 150 miles from Moscow, is also home to the 121st Heavy Bomber Air Regiment whose aircraft are believed to have attacked Ukraine. It also serves as a base for Russia’s only Il-78 tanker regiment, a strategically vital unit responsible for air-to-air refueling of the country’s military aviation. “The destruction of strategic bombers will undoubtedly attract more attention, but if Russia loses Il-78 tanker aircraft, this may be the biggest problem for Moscow,” Lee said. “Production of new aircraft tankers is notoriously slow, so this could prove to be the most damaging part for Russia.” Li said one of the main issues for the Russian air force was that many of its aircraft were not housed in hangars, leaving them vulnerable to attack. “It is clear that Russia did not prepare plans to defend air bases deep inside the country,” Lee said. “Despite the fact that this is not the first attack on Russian soil, Moscow took too long to react and protect its aircraft.”
The explosions
While it was not immediately clear what caused the explosion at either military base, Baza, a Russian media outlet with sources in the security services, reported that the Russian airfield at Engels-2 was attacked by a drone. Lee believes the drones would have been launched from Ukraine through Russian territory. “Drone strikes have a relatively short range and could not fly that far from Ukraine,” Li said. The explosion at the Engels-2 airfield angered some prominent Russian pro-war bloggers who blamed the country’s military for failing to protect air bases. “The sheep in the rear continue to demonstrate their utter inadequacy… Even now, airfields with strategic aviation are not covered by air defense systems,” wrote Voenniy Osvedomitel, a popular commentator, on his Telegram channel.
