Vladimir Putin’s faltering armed forces have been dealt a heavy blow.
The Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement on Thursday that it had damaged or destroyed six Su-34M bombers in the Voronezh Oblast in western Russia.
It comes as Ukraine continues its blitz deep inside Russian territory. Attacks on vital logistical targets such as oil refineries and e-commerce warehouses have grabbed the most headlines, but Kyiv has also shifted pressure back onto Moscow by hitting several air bases.
“On the night of October 15, the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the Borisoglebsk military airfield in the Voronezh region of the Russian Federation with the Neptune missile system,” the Ukrainian Navy said in a statement.
“As a result of the strike, six Su-34M bombers were hit. Technical equipment for providing flights of aviation was also hit, repeated detonations and a fire on the territory of the airfield were recorded,” it added, before noting that it was still seeking clarification on the extent of the damage.
“Su-34M are capable of carrying several guided and explosive aviation bombs at the same time, missiles of various types, and are one of the key means of Russian aviation for striking guided aviation bombs at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and frontline settlements.”
Known as a “Fullback” by NATO and a “Platypus” by the Russian military, they are most comparable to an F-15 Strike Eagle. Open-source military intelligence platform GlobalMilitary.net estimates that each Su-34M is worth about $36 million on average. That means Ukraine’s Thursday morning strike set the Kremlin back roughly $216 million.
“Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck an airfield in the Voronezh region,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X on Thursday, confirming the strike. “Four Su-34 aircraft were destroyed and two more Su-34s were hit. The Russians used them to terrorize our people. These very warplanes were ready to launch new attacks on Ukraine and were loaded with aerial bombs.
It comes at a vital time. In early October, Russian state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec said it had delivered a new batch of the medium-range bomber.
In its statement announcing the delivery, Rostec added at the end that “New batches of Su-34s are already in production.”
“The destruction of enemy Su-34M significantly weakens the enemy’s aviation potential and reduces the intensity of the use of tactical aviation in the relevant areas of the front,” Ukraine’s Navy added in its statement.
It is just the latest chapter in what has been a brutal year for Putin’s home front.
Kyiv has stunned observers with its capacity for deep strikes far behind the frontline, in part due to the rapid development of its world-leading drone industry.
Thursday’s strike was also carried out by Ukrainian weapons, namely a Neptune missile, a subsonic cruise missile designed in Kyiv.
It comes as President Donald Trump’s so-called energy ceasefire crumbles.
The U.S. president bragged he had gotten both sides to leave one another’s energy infrastructure out of the fight, but Putin thumbed his nose at him almost immediately afterward, striking energy facilities in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
