Drone attack on Soltsy airfield launched from Russian soil, British intelligence suggests

British intelligence analysts presume that the latest UAV attack on the Soltsy airfield in Russia, where at least one Tu-22M3 strategic bomber was destroyed as a result, could have been carried out from the territory of the Russian Federation.

The British Ministry of Defense reported the update on X (formerly known as Twitter) with reference to intelligence data, reports Ukrinform.

As noted, on August 19, a long-range Russian Tu-22M3 bomber was most likely destroyed at the Soltsy military airfield in Novgorod region, 650 km from the border with Ukraine.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense claims that the airfield was attacked by an unmanned aerial vehicle of the quadcopter type.

"If true, this adds weight to the assessment that some UAV attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsy-2 from outside Russia," British intelligence believes.

It is emphasized that Russia has frequently used Tu-22M3 (Backfire) bombers to launch the notoriously inaccurate Kh-22 (AS-4 Kitchen) heavy anti-ship missiles against Ukraine. Early in the war, they also carried out intense bombardment of Mariupol using unguided bombs.

"This is at least the third successful attack on long-range airfields, again raising questions about Russia’s ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country," British intelligence concluded in its summary.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, British intelligence in their previous update stated that Russia was expanding its military organization in view of wartime realities. A new formation, the 18th Combined Arms Army, is very likely being created.