Strike On Kushchyovskaya Air Base Destroys Aircraft Of Elite Group ‘Russian Knights’

New satellite images have been published.

On May 19, Ukrainian drones successfully attacked the Kushchyovskaya airbase in the Krasnodar Territory of Russia. As a result, at least three Russian fighter bombers were destroyed.

Defense Express journalists noted that one of the planes belonged to the elite Russian aerobatic team “Russian Knights”. They are the ones who participate in various aviation shows of the Russian invaders.

The journalists reminded that on the night of May 19, Ukrainian drones successfully attacked a Russian airfield in Kushchyovskaya in the Krasnodar Territory of Russia. It is located 250 kilometers from the front line.

The publication emphasizes that although this is a training airbase 195, front-line combat aviation is now based there, including Su-34 bombers.

At the same time, Radio Svoboda journalists published satellite images that already recorded the result of the attack on the Kushchyovskaya airbase. The footage recorded damage to aircraft that were identified as a Su-34 front-line bomber and Su-27 and Su-30 fighters.

“But additional attention can be given to the aircraft marked as Su-27 because it has the standard coloring in the colors of the Russian Knights aerobatic team,” stated in the material.

According to the journalists, this group indeed operates the Su-27, including both four-seater Su-27P and two-seater Su-27UB aircraft. However, the Russian Knights received eight Su-30SM aircraft in 2016.

According to the publication, the invaders didn’t fly on Su-27 long, as subsequently, starting from 2019, pilots have begun transitioning to the Su-35, which bears a similar appearance to the Su-27P on satellite images.

“Therefore, we leave the question of identification in parentheses until additional information becomes available. However, the mere presence of one aircraft from the aerobatic team at the combat airbase is extremely intriguing. And it may suggest that not everything is as idealized with the russian fighter jets as they try to portray,” the Defense Express writes.