Ukraine says Neptune strike hit six jets at Russian airfield

Ukraine’s Navy said it struck Borisoglebsk airfield in Russia’s Voronezh region with Neptune missiles overnight from Oct. 14 to Oct. 15, hitting six Su-34M fighter-bombers and flight-support equipment. The Ukrainian General Staff later said all six aircraft sustained damage of varying degrees. The precise condition of each plane has not been independently established in the available reporting. The Navy said the attack caused a fire and secondary explosions at the airfield. It said its assessment of damage to support equipment and other infrastructure was continuing. Satellite imagery taken Thursday and verified by Reuters showed evidence of destruction at the site, but did not establish the extent of damage to individual aircraft. An interpretation of before-and-after imagery published by Ukrainian monitoring channel AviVector said four aircraft appeared destroyed and two significantly damaged. That aircraft-by-aircraft assessment has not been independently confirmed. The Navy described six aircraft as hit, while the General Staff said all six were damaged; neither statement by itself verifies whether any were destroyed.