Drones attack Diagilevo air base in Russia’s Ryazan

The strategic Diagilevo air base, home to critical bomber units, was reportedly targeted by drones.

Dec 4, 2024 - 08:00

Drones attack Diagilevo air base in Russia’s Ryazan

Russia's Ryazan oil refinery

In the early hours of 4 December, multiple explosions were reported near the Diagilevo air base in Ryazan, a city located approximately 700 kilometers from Ukraine’s border.

Local Russian media outlets, including Astra, reported significant activity involving drone strikes and air defense systems.

Locals reportedly heard explosions around 4 am near the strategic military installation. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have intercepted and destroyed 24 Ukrainian drones during the night, with several interceptions occurring over the Ryazan Oblast.

The Diagilevo air base is a critical military asset, housing several important aviation units. The base allegedly hosts:

The 43rd Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Flying Personnel.
Aircraft including Tu-95MS strategic bombers, Tu-22M3 bombers, and Tu-134UBL planes.
The 203rd Separate Aircraft Refueling Regiment, equipped with Il-78 refueling aircraft.
The 360th Aviation Repair Plant is located adjacent to the base.

This is not the first time the Diagilevo air base has been targeted. In December 2022, a previous drone attack damaged strategic bombers Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3, along with a refueling truck. Several military personnel were killed or wounded in that incident.

The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate had previously claimed responsibility for a 5 December 2022 attack using Tu-141 Strizh drones loaded with explosives. A similar incident occurred on 27 July of this year, when explosions were reported at the same airbase.

As of now, Ukrainian and Russian local authorities have not issued an official statement regarding the current attack on 4 December 2024.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of 11 more Ukrainian drones overning: six over the Rostov Oblast, two over the Kursk Oblast, and one each over the Bryansk, Ryazan and Kaluga oblasts.

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