Drone attack on Engels cost Russia $960 million, - Forbes
Date: 2025-03-28 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WAR
Massive attacks on the Engels airbase in the Saratov region cost Russia $960 million, Forbes writes.
On the morning of March 20, Ukrainian drones struck the Engels airbase, where strategic bombers are located, for the third time in the last 10 weeks. According to the General Staff of Ukraine, the explosions destroyed 96 X-101 cruise missiles, which are one of Russia's key weapons for strikes against Ukraine.
These missiles, launched by Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers, have a range of 900 km and are equipped with warheads weighing 450 kg. The General Staff in Kyiv reported that these munitions were prepared by Moscow for attacks on Ukrainian cities in the near future.
The 96 missiles destroyed are equivalent to two months of production at the Raduga Design Bureau plant near Moscow. Each Kh-101 costs at least $10 million, meaning that Russia's total losses from the strike on Engels could reach $960 million, not including damage to fuel depots and other facilities at the base.
When explosions and plumes of smoke were heard at the air base on March 20, the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications wryly noted that Engels "faced serious difficulties." But these problems began even earlier.
On January 8, Ukrainian drones covered more than 650 km to strike the area of the Saratov region where the base is located. Then the explosions caused a fire in a warehouse where 800,000 tons of fuel were stored. The fire raged for nearly a week and was only fully extinguished on January 14, when Ukrainian drones launched another attack. That day, StratCom warned: "There will be no rest for the wicked."
