The ATACMS missiles have enough range to cover the airbase with one strike, but there is no permission for this.

Russian planes, which terrorize Ukraine every day , are based at airfields less than 200 km from the border line, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces cannot destroy them on the ground due to a US ban. Forbes writes about this .

The publication cites the example of the Voronezh air base “Baltimore”, located just within the range of ATACMS missiles. Su-34 fighter-bombers take off from this airfield every day, which bomb the front line and front-line settlements of Ukraine with powerful gliding aerial bombs.

Dozens of Su-34s regularly park in the open on the asphalt of the recently renovated base. “Ukraine could potentially disable the entire operational fleet [of aircraft] stationed there if it were allowed to carry out such a strike,” notes Ukrainian think tank Frontelligence Insight.

Now the Joe Biden administration prohibits Ukraine from firing American missiles at this base, proposing to shoot down planes in the air. However, this is why the Russians use gliding bombs, which are launched from afar so as not to fall within the range of Ukrainian air defense. In addition, Ukraine urgently lacks long-range air defense systems to risk them by bringing them close to the border.

“Attempting to ambush these jets with a Patriot battery in a drone-rich environment… poses significant risks,” Frontelligence Insight said.

Forbes notes that one such attempt ended tragically for the Ukrainians – the Patriot complex was spotted by a Russian drone, and the aggressor launched a missile strike on its position, destroying two launchers (usually there are 2 to 8 of them in one air defense system).

Also, the Ukrainians will not risk the F-16s when they arrive: due to the Russian air defense factor, flying them to the border to catch the Russian Su-27s will also be too dangerous. And obviously the air base is protected by air defense systems reliably enough that Ukraine cannot carry out a successful strike with drones.

“Ukraine is likely not to jeopardize future missile supplies by using them against targets that the United States does not approve in advance. Therefore, the Ukrainians are waiting for permission, which they hope to receive soon,” Forbes concludes.

Russian Strikes on Ukraine: Latest News

As UNIAN wrote, Russian occupiers continue to terrorize the civilian population of the Kharkov region. According to the head of the regional administration Oleg Sinegubov, this time the invaders struck the city of Dergachi in the Kharkov region. Two victims are known – a 71-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man.

We also told you that the day before the Russians fired a missile at a residential high-rise building in the Dnieper. Five people are considered missing, one person was killed and more than a dozen were injured.

(C)UNIAN 2024