- A secret NATO report says Russia plans to withdraw all of its fighter jets from Crimea.
- The report says it is “highly likely” in response to recent attacks on Russian outposts in the region.
- Some Ukrainian officials have suggested that Ukraine is behind the recent bombings at Russian positions.
This is an edited, translated version of an article first published on August 26, 2022.
Russia is withdrawing all of its fighter jets from Crimea in response to recent bombings at Russian military outposts in the region, according to a classified NATO report seen by Insider.
Russia has already transferred ten aircraft – six Su-35S and four MiG-31BMs – from Crimea to Russia and will continue until all fighters have been withdrawn, the Aug. 22 report said.
The report says that the first ten aircraft were transferred from the Belbek airfield in Crimea to Kushchevskaya and Marinovka, two regions of Russia.
Russia has moved 10 fighter jets from Crimea to other airfields on the Russian mainland to likely prevent further losses from Ukrainian attacks.
The report focused on a series of apparent attacks in Crimea, a Ukrainian region that Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the bombings, although Ukrainian officials have suggested that it was involved.
Several explosions have taken place at the Saki air base and at the headquarters of the Russian Navy in Sevastopol, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made it clear that his ultimate goal is to reclaim occupied Crimea.
As Insider previously reported, moving these assets further from the front lines could make it harder for Russia to use them in operations in Ukraine.
The Belbek airfield, located near Sevastopol, is “Russia’s main airfield providing support in southern Ukraine and the Black Sea,” according to a NATO report.
The report notes that at the time of its publication, 32 Russian fighters remained at the Belbek airfield: they were mainly Su-27 Flanker J fighters, but there were also a small number of Su-35S and MiG-31BM.
The report said that these aircraft are “probably not enough” to maintain the same level of aviation support in the region.
The report says Russia has also increased the number of its tactical surface-to-air missiles in Crimea to defend against attacks by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.
“It is difficult for Russia to target Ukrainian UAVs due to the weak IADS (Integrated Air Defense System) C2, which is likely a weakness of the entire spectrum of Russian military efforts in the conflict in Ukraine,” the report says.