[Tee tiong huat]

The last time a Ukrainian agent sneaked onto a Russian airfield to attack Pskov 500 miles from Ukraine, why Ukrainians target Chelyabinsk its Su-34s supersonic fighter-bombers. A Saboteur Traveled 900 Miles to A Snowy Russian Airfield And, In The Dead Of Night to Lit Sukhoi Fighter-Bomber On Fire. The agent slipped into Russia, traveled 900 miles to Chelyabinsk airbase just north of Kazakhstan, sneaked onto snowy base by Ukrainian agent inside Russia, but it might be the most daring one & have cost Russian air force yet another increasingly endangered Su-34s.

Intelligence directorate claimed twin-engine, two-seat Su-34 belonged to 21st Composite Aviation Division, a known operator of this type. “The reasons for the plane catching fire are being clarified,” the directorate quipped.

The last time Ukrainian agent sneaked onto a Russian airfield, near Pskov in October 2022, it was to blow up a Kamov Ka-52 attack helicopter. Pskov is 500 miles from the border with Ukraine.
Ukraine has other methods of striking Russian air bases from hundreds of miles away—drones and missiles—but direct sabotage might be the most embarrassing for the Russians.

Ukrainian forces are doing everything they can to shoot down every Su-34 they can. Rapidly repositioning long-range air-defenses in southern Ukraine last month, the Ukrainian air force shot down four Su-34s in the span of a week. If the sabotaged jet is a write-off, the Russians might be down to 125 or so Su-34s out of a pre-war fleet of no more than 150.