Ukraine carried out the first attack on an airfield in Russia using U.S.-donated Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles on Monday. The Khalino airfield about 60 miles from the border was targeted, according to media and Telegram accounts. The attack came as Ukraine struggled to hold territory in the region that it captured during its August invasion.
The War Zone obtained satellite imagery from today that doesn’t show outright extensive damage at the base, but the photo is partially obscured with key areas not being visible. The presence of any aircraft is also limited, which isn’t surprising as the base hasn’t been used as a primary operating location for tactical airpower for some time. More on the imagery in a moment.
Video and images emerging on social media show explosions of submunitions from an ATACMS cluster variant reportedly striking the airfield.
The sound of the explosions and the wail of air raid sirens was captured in the video below.
“Seven ATACMS missiles and 12 UAVs attacked the Kursk region at night,” the independent Russia ASTRA news outlet reported on Telegram Monday.
While a number of the missiles were shot down, ASTRA said that at least one struck the Khalino airfield, injuring two troops. In addition, ASTRA claimed a private house was damaged.
“Damage to the airfield is currently unknown,” ASTRA explained. “Drones were shot down in Zheleznogorsk and Dmitrievsky districts.”
“At night, ATACMS cluster missiles attacked the …Khalino airfield in the Kursk region,” the Russian Military Informant Telegram channel reported. “The footage of the landing and its geolocation published by Ukrainian channels also shows the characteristic moment of the detonation of M74 submunitions on the territory of the airbase.”
Though Russian sources claimed seven of the eight ATACMS were shot down, images posted on social media show “at least two arrivals,” Military Informant suggested. “It was immediately obvious that the key targets for the ATACMS would be airfields. At the same time, due to the threat of missile strikes, aviation is practically no longer used from border airfields and has been relocated deeper.”
The Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said targets in Kursk were among several in Russia struck by its forces Monday, but did not specify the target in Kursk or how it was attacked.
“On the night of November 25, 2024 units of the Main Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine together with other components of the Defense Forces attacked a number of important occupiers objects, in particular in Bryansk, Kaluzk and Kursk regions of Russia,” the General Staff claimed on Facebook.
“There is confirmation of a successful impact of the oil base in the Kaluz region,” the General Staff claimed. “The results of combat work on other objects are specified.”
The following video reportedly shows that facility under attack.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that seven drones were shot down over Kursk, but did not specify where.
Ukrainian officials have long argued the need for ATACMS to launch airstrikes in Russia. U.S. officials, meanwhile, have argued that Russia moved aviation assets away from airfields in range of ATACMS.
“I don’t believe one capability is going to be decisive and I stand by that comment,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said.
On Nov. 17, Ukraine was finally permitted by the Biden administration to use ATACMS in Russia.
The weapon was first used two days later, hitting a munitions storage facility near the town of Karachev in the Bryansk region of western Russia about 70 miles from the border. The ATACMS short-range ballistic missiles can hit targets up to about 190 miles away, while earlier variants feature a shorter range. The following video shows that attack underway.
Though it was unclear if any aircraft were located at Khalino during the attack, satellite images have emerged showing that Russia has been building aircraft shelters there.
“Reinforced concrete shelters for aviation are being built at an accelerated pace,” at the airfield, Military Informant claimed.
Satellite images we obtained appear to confirm that.
Below are images taken on Nov. 2 and today, Nov. 25, of the airbase. The post attack image is partially obscured and no massive damage is visible, but the air defense systems arrayed between the runway and the taxiway are largely obscured, as well as key areas of the installation. This is especially true for the northwest corner of the base where hardened shelters are being constructed.
You can see the shelters being constructed in the Nov. 2 image below. There also appears to be munitions stored in two areas in the open, and although it’s possible they could be construction materials, they look very similar to what’s found in other munitions storage areas on Russian airbases.
A closer look at the Nov. 25 image:
One Russian Telegram channel complained that Ukraine’s attack was aided by surveillance cameras in the area that produced the videos previously seen.
“Now I won’t go on and on about how the Ukrainian Armed Forces and their Western masters are playing with fire and all that… that’s clear to everyone,” the Two Majors Telegram channel groused. “I want to raise a speech about the STILL WORKING OUTDOOR SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS WITH PUBLIC ACCESS IN THE FRONTLINE CITY. Moreover, some of these cameras look DIRECTLY IN THE DIRECTION OF THE MILITARY AIRFIELD.”
“Should I say that this is a huge help to the enemy in adjusting strikes and objective control?” Two Majors asked rhetorically. “And how will these shots fly around among the [Ukrainians] as propaganda, should I say? Why hasn’t access to the cameras been removed yet?”
The attack on Khalino came a day after Ukraine reportedly used ATACMS to strike an S-400 air defense system.
The attack took place on the system near the village of Bolshoe Zhirovo, Kursk Region on Nov. 23, the Ukrainian Dosye Shpiona Telegram channel claimed. That’s about 20 miles northwest of the airfield.
The system was non-operational and being repaired, however, “a 92N6E radar station and two launchers were destroyed,” Dosye Shpiona posited. In addition, five officers were killed in the attack.
The War Zone cannot independently verify those claims.
Khalino was first targeted by Ukraine in a December 2022 drone attack.
Back then, Khalino was a Russian Aerospace Forces facility that played an important role in the full-on war. The airfield was then home to the 14th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment with two squadrons of Su-30SM Flanker-H fighters. The regiment had a nominal strength of 24 of those jets.
The regional governor of Kursk Oblast at the time, Roman Starovoyt, claimed that the drone attack ignited what he described as an “oil reservoir” — presumably a fuel storage depot — within the airbase’s perimeter. He added that fire crews were containing the blaze. Multiple videos posted to social media showed flames leaping up into the night sky early this morning; thick black smoke was also indicative of a fuel fire.
It was struck again on Aug. 14 with what was then considered “the largest attack on airfields in the war,” the Kyiv Independent reported, citing a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Though the U.S. has said Russia has moved its aircraft out of ATACMS range and a prominent Russian milblogger claimed there were none at Khalino at the time, two factors raise questions about Russia’s ongoing use of the installation. From the satellite images we obtained, it is clear they are using the facility to at least store munitions, which would be a natural target for Ukraine. Its Kursk invasion has been slowed by Russia’s use of glide bombs in particular.
The construction of concrete shelters there seems to be an acknowledgment by Russia that it intends to operate its combat aircraft at scale from the airfield in the future.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com