Forbes: AFU Has One More Important Target In Kursk Region

The Ukrainians want to level this object to the ground.

The Khalino airbase, located in the city of Kursk, is the closest military airfield to Sudzha, a border town, Sudzha is the centre of Ukraine's surprise invasion of Kursk region, Forbes reminds.

The 14th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Russian Air Force is based at Khalino. The 24 Su-30SM fighter-bombers that are part of the regiment can carry glider smart bombs weighing up to three tonnes and with a range of 25 kilometres or more on retractable wings.

Shortly after these five Ukrainian brigades crossed the border on Tuesday, the Russian air force began striking the brigades and their bases in Ukraine's Sumy region with about 50 smart bomb strikes a day - half the total number of smart bomb strikes the Russians are dropping along the entire 700-mile front line.

The Ukrainians know how important the Khalino airfield is. That's why they started attacking it hard a week before the invasion.

"Khalino is only 65 miles from the border, making it accessible to a wide range of Ukrainian deep strike weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles and explosive drones. The Ukrainians have carried out several strikes on the base since February 2022.

A drone strike on Khalino in December 2022 triggered a fire at the base's fuel depot. Eight months later, another attack involved Ukraine's unique cardboard attack drones.

The attacks intensified. On July 31, only six days before the Ukrainian invasion, Ukrainian Navy Neptune cruise missiles struck the Khalino ammunition depot and burned part of it to the ground, possibly destroying the smart bombs stored there.

The danger to the 14th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment and other Russian forces at Khalino will only be increasing insofar the Ukrainians control the Kursk region territory adjacent to the border.

If they attacked Khalino from inside the invasion zone, the Ukrainians could target the airbase with their less long-range land-based missiles, including the M30/31 fired from US-made highly mobile artillery rocket systems.

It is unlikely that the Ukrainian army would risk its precious HIMARS so close to the front line. But if it wanted to, it could hit Khalino harder than it has ever done before.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com