The Ukrainian army has succeeded in a spectacular counter-attack in the Russian-occupied south of the country. Numerous Russian helicopters were destroyed at an airbase. This raises the question of how well Russia is in control of the newly conquered territories.
As recently as Tuesday morning, Russia's armed forces had announced that they now controlled the entire province of Kherson in southern Ukraine.
But already in the afternoon, a different reality was revealed when an inferno broke out near the provincial capital of the same name. Several helicopters went up in flames at Kherson airport, which is used for military and civilian purposes. Details of the attack are not available, as the Ukrainian armed forces have not released any details apart from aerial photographs.
But it is obviously a severe setback for the Russian occupiers.Only gradually is the extent of the damage becoming clearer thanks to new satellite imagery. The images released by the private American earth observation companies Planet Labs and Maxar on Wednesday and Thursday show that at least eight helicopters were destroyed in the attack, though probably more. In addition, other burnt-out or damaged helicopters can be seen in other parts of the sprawling Russian military base.
They are likely to have fallen victim to an earlier attack. There had already been reports to this effect a week ago.
Experts therefore speak of a total of sixteen to 22 helicopters as well as several missile sites and a double-digit number of military vehicles that Russia has lost. This is the heaviest loss of the Russian air force so far in this war.
The large-scale attack highlights the inability of Russian forces to sufficiently secure a newly captured strategic object such as this airport. Kherson is the first and so far only Ukrainian provincial capital to fall into Russian hands in this war.
The region serves as an important bridgehead for supplying the offensive on the Ukrainian southern front running from Crimea via Kherson towards Mikolayiv. Dozens of helicopters were stationed at the military base, lined up in rows and thus intestine to attack.
If it was an air attack, this would be further proof of the gaps in Russian air defence. However, it is also conceivable that the area is still within range of Ukrainian artillery and that parts of the province are by no means under Moscow's control. In any case, there are demonstrations against the occupiers in the streets of Kherson speedy every day.
Whatever the background, the recent losses of helicopters will complicate future operations for Russia. The attacks are currently aimed in two directions from Kherson - on the one hand along the banks of the Dnipro to the north-east, and on the other towards Mikolayiv, the capital of the province bordering to the north. The Russians have been trying in vain to capture it for days.
Control of Mikolayiv is probably a prerequisite for the invaders to then turn their attention to the large city of Odessa, which, apart from sporadic air raids, has remained relatively unscathed by the war.
