Russia says destroyed 5 Ukrainian jets in strike on air base

MOSCOW/ KYIV — Russia claimed Tuesday to have destroyed or damaged five Ukrainian military jets in a strike on an air base, as Kyiv prepares for the arrival of long-awaited F-16 fighters.

Russia's defence ministry said it fired Iskander-M missiles at an air base near the central Ukrainian city of Myrgorod, around 150 kilometres from the Russian border.

"As a result of the Russian army strike, five operational SU-27 multirole fighters were destroyed, and two that were under repair were damaged," it said in a statement on Telegram.

The ministry also published footage of what it said was the strike and its aftermath, showing grey smoke billowing at the airfield, where some parked planes were visible and charred black earth.

AFP could not immediately verify the footage or the claims.

Russian and Ukrainian military bloggers previously reported the strike on Monday.

Ukraine's air force declined to comment when asked by AFP about Russia's claims.

In a social media post, air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said: "Ukrainian aircraft continue to successfully carry out combat missions, conduct missile and bomb attacks on the positions of the occupiers and eliminate important military facilities."

He posted footage of what he said was a Ukrainian attack on an ammunition depot in Crimea, the peninsula Russia annexed in 2014, carried out on Monday.

But Ukrainian military bloggers and analysts said Kyiv had suffered equipment losses in Myrgorod, with some angry at commanders for parking the planes in the open without sufficient protection.

Kyiv hopes the arrival of Western F-16 fighters will enable it to better protect itself from Russian bombardment.

Ukraine has been calling for the US-made jets since the start of the conflict.

Several NATO countries have pledged to supply them and have been training Ukrainian pilots and crews for months.

The first deliveries, including from The Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark are expected to arrive in the country imminently.

But recent strikes on Ukrainian airfields have raised questions about Kyiv’s ability to protect the multi-million-dollar planes from Russian fire.

“As Ukraine waits for the F-16s, the question of ensuring their safety on the ground remains,” the Ukraine-based Defense Express think tank said on Tuesday.

Russia has promised to target and destroy F-16s, along with all other Western military hardware shipped to Kyiv.

Ukraine has not said where it will base the F-16s.

Meanwhile, Hungary’s Moscow-friendly prime minister Viktor Orban urged Kyiv on Tuesday to work towards a “quick ceasefire” in Ukraine that could pave the way for negotiations with Russia to end more than two years of war.

Orban issued the appeal standing next to President Volodymyr Zelensky during a surprise visit to Ukraine, the first by the vocal critic of Western support for Kyiv.

“I asked the president to consider whether... a quick ceasefire could speed up the peace talks,” Orban told reporters, adding that the ceasefire he envisions would be “time-limited”.

Ukraine has repeatedly rejected calls for a pause in fighting, which it says would just give Russia time to regroup for a fresh assault.

The United States meanwhile on Tuesday announced new security aid for Ukraine worth $2.3 billion.

Unlike many other European leaders, Orban had not visited Kyiv since Russia invaded in February 2022 and is widely seen as the 27-member bloc’s most pro-Russian leader.

In October 2023 he met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Beijing, becoming the first EU leader to do so since the start of the war.

Orban regularly criticises Europe’s financial and military support for Kyiv, temporarily blocking a 50-billion-euro ($53-billion) aid package for weeks.

And he openly opposes holding EU membership talks with Kyiv as well as Brussels’ sanctions on Moscow — though Budapest has not used its veto to block the moves.

A ‘just peace’

The visit comes the day after Hungary took over the EU’s rotating presidency, a position which gives the central European state sway over the bloc’s agenda and priorities for the next six months.

Orban said he would report on his talks with Zelensky to EU prime ministers “so that the necessary European decisions can be taken.”

Zelensky said the timing of the visit was symbolic.

“This is a clear indication of our common European priorities, of how important it is to bring a just peace to Ukraine,” he said, urging European countries to maintain military support.