Strikes on Russian airfields demonstrate Ukraine’s ability to attack the enemy’s rear.

Ukrainian forces most probably carried out the strikes on Engels-2 air bases in the Saratov region and Diaghilev in the Ryazan region, demonstrating Ukraine’s ability to strike Russian military object to the rear, says a study by the ISW. In addition, experts called these strikes an attempt to disrupt the Russian campaign of strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure. Elements of the Russian fleet of strategic bombers, which the Russian Federation has used to launch strikes on Ukraine throughout the war, were located at the mentioned air bases. Inside Russia, in the military blogging community, anger at the inability of the Russian military to prevent Ukrainian strikes on Russian strategic air bases outweighed praise for the latest attack on Ukraine. Some suggested that the strikes on Engels-2 and Diaghilev air bases threatened Russia’s legitimacy as a nuclear power because the strikes damaged aircraft capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads.