Radar images shown the Pskov airfield, which was struck by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on August 30th. Damage to two Il-76 aircraft had already been confirmed earlier. New images from Planet Labs increase the number of aircraft that will no longer take to the skies to four.
Radar Images of the Pskov Airfield
Massive damage to Russian aircraft at the Pskov airfield has received new confirmation. Earlier reports partially confirmed this with satellite imagery from Planet Labs on August 30th. However, clouds partially obscured the airfield, leaving many questions.
New images, taken on the same day using SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites, allow nearly complete visibility of the airfield. They were posted by a user on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) under the username MT Anderson. In the photos, two seriously damaged aircraft are clearly visible.
The same post also includes recent optical images from Planet Labs, taken on August 31st when the weather improved. These images show that at least two more Il-76 aircraft were completely destroyed in the fire. Open-source intelligence analyst Benjamin Pittet subsequently concluded that two aircraft were destroyed in total, with two more seriously damaged.
What Ukrainian military officials say
What Ukrainian military officials say is consistent with this evidence. They initially reported four destroyed Il-76 aircraft on the morning of August 30th, simultaneously with the appearance of numerous photos and videos documenting the fire near the military unit. However, Russian military officials have not officially reported anything.
The Pskov airfield is used by both military and civilian aircraft. In the spring of 2022, Il-76 aircraft with Russian paratroopers who were supposed to seize Kyiv took off from here. Additionally, the fire on August 30th reportedly occurred on the territory of the 2nd Brigade of the Russian GRU special forces.
Source: twitter.com/MT_Anderson.
