In a few hours Russia lost $300-380 million at an airfield in Crimea after the destruction of aircraft - Forbes

By: Maksim Panasovskiy | 12.08.2022, 15:50

On August 9, a series of explosions took place at an airbase in Crimea. According to various sources, from 8 to 24 units of Russian army aircraft were destroyed. The publication Forbes counted the losses in money.

What we know

Forbes said that before the explosions, the value of the equipment located at the airfield was between $650 million and $850 million. The Su-30SM fighters cost $50 million. The IL-76 cost $86 million, and the Su-24MR cost $6 million.

The president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that nine military aircraft were destroyed at the airbase. If we assume that all nine planes are Su-24MRs, the Russian losses amounted to $55 million. In the case of Su-35SMs, the amount increases to $450.

But after the publication of satellite images, more information about the destroyed aircraft appeared. Analyst from UA Weapons Tracker reports that Russia lost six Su-24MR strike and reconnaissance aircraft and five Su-30SM fighters. Thus, Russia's monetary losses amount to $300 million.

According to InforNapalm, a series of explosions resulted in the loss of four Su-30SM, eight Su-27, five Su-24, one Il-20 and six Mi-8 helicopters to Russian aviation. In that case, Russia lost $380 million.

In conclusion, let us add that the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not confirm their involvement in the bombings. In Russia, the main version is considered to be negligence and combustion of the missile depots. However, in some videos it is possible to see explosions at two points of the airbase, the distance between them is about 1 km.

Source: Forbes

Image: Wikipedia

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