Russian losses pass grim milestone after Kyiv's "most successful" attack (2025)

Ukraine's attack on a Russian military airfield last week destroyed 96 air-launched cruise missiles, Ukraine's General Staff has said.

The strike on Engels-2 near Saratov, hundreds of miles from Ukraine's border, has also been described by British defense officials as Kyiv's most successful attack on a Russian munitions depot so far this year.

No aircraft were reported as being hit in the attack. Ukraine's tally of destroyed Russian aircraft including helicopters and planes has surpassed 700.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

Why It Matters

The strike on the Engels-2 air base preceded talks in Saudi Arabia involving Russian and Ukrainian delegations that led to a conditional ceasefire in the Black Sea, the details of which have not been finalized.

The terms would see a pause in strikes on energy infrastructure by both sides but Kyiv has stepped up its strikes on military facilities to hurt Russia's war machine and its announcement Thursday suggested this would continue.

What to Know

Russian authorities declared a state of emergency following the attack on the Engels-2 air base with Russian Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers that can carry nuclear and conventional long-range strikes and have been used to attack Ukraine.

Russia rarely acknowledges attacks on its military installations and so the declaration showed the seriousness of the attack overnight on March 19.

Video showed plumes of smoke rising from the base located around 500 miles from Moscow which has been targeted by Ukraine before.

Ukraine often does not immediately claim responsibility for strikes on targets within Russia but Andriy Kovalenko, from thr National Security and Defense Council, said on March 20 that Kyiv had carried out the strike, which destroyed Russian Kinzhal missiles.

On Thursday, Ukraine's General Staff said that Russia lost 96 winged air base missiles intended to strike Ukraine. It also said that strikes on aviation fuel storage sites had destroyed reserves. This has not been independently verified.

But the statement follows an assessment on Tuesday by the U.K. Ministry of Defense which said the site was hit by an Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS).

The U.K. Defense Ministry called it the most successful targeting of a Russian munitions depot so far this year and continued a pattern of Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia.

The strike will likely disrupt strike operations from the airfield and force Russia to replenish munitions stock and Russian aircraft would have been dispersed to surrounding airfields in response, the ministry added.

At the time of the strike, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said that since the start of the war, Russia had lost 701 aircraft, which included 331 helicopters and 370 planes. As of Thursday, the tally which has not been independently verified stood at 705, with a further four helicopters lost over the last week.

What People Are Saying

Ukraine's General Staff on Thursday: "As a result of the strike of the Defense Forces of Ukraine on the airspace force of the Russian Federation "Engels-2" on March 20, 2025, the enemy lost 96 winged air base missiles.

"Strikes on aviation fuel storage sites have resulted in the destruction of significant of its reserves, which negatively affects the Russian aggressor's ability to provide combat. The struggle is still on!"

The British Ministry of Defense on March 25: "The strike is Ukraine's most successful targeting of a Russian munitions depot in 2025 so far and continues the pattern of regular Ukrainian SAS strikes deep into Russian territory."

What Happens Next

The British MOD update said that Russia's air defense is stretched in protecting its military locations, suggesting that they will continue to be targeted by Ukraine as it conducts deep strike operations, as the details of a ceasefire in the Black Sea are hammered out.