Putin’s troops parked seven fighter jets on the same airfield – then Ukraine’s drones took off

Modern warfare leaves very little room to hide, especially when multi-million-dollar warplanes are involved.

Satellite technology now allows observers to track military movements in near real time, revealing vulnerabilities just before the bombs start falling.

A recent gathering of expensive Russian aviation hardware highlights exactly how risky it has become to bunch valuable assets together.

Packed together

By Tuesday, Russian forces had clustered a significant number of combat aircraft at the Borisoglebsk airfield.

Newly released satellite images show seven Su-35 fighter jets sitting in standard parking spots. They were parked remarkably close to one another, with no cover or camouflage.

The Ukrainian military media outlet Militarnyi obtained and published these images on July 8. According to its report, the planes were gathered on July 7, 2026, just hours before Ukrainian attack drones struck the base.

The advanced fighter jets were not alone on the tarmac. Alongside the jets, observers counted eight Yak-130 training aircraft and two Mi-8 helicopters.

A single massive Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter completed the crowded lineup.

Caught in the fire

Then the drones arrived overnight. Fire-monitoring data from NASA’s FIRMS service later confirmed a massive heat anomaly at the base.

Interestingly, the largest fire signature appeared right where those seven fighter jets had been sitting.

Military experts are still trying to determine which specific units owned the aircraft. However, the airfield belongs to the 105th Aviation Division.

Militarnyi noted that this division controls two separate Su-35 regiments, normally based at Khotilovo-2 and Petrozavodsk-15.

The damage from the attack has not yet been confirmed, but footage from the OSINT group Exilenova+, shared by another X-user below, shows what the group says is a large fire coming from the airfield following the attack.

Massive drone wave

This airfield was not the only target during the chaotic night.

In a coordinated effort, Ukraine’s Security Service launched a massive wave of strikes against several military targets.

Drones struck the Dzhankoi airbase while also hitting various ammunition depots and logistics facilities across the occupied territories.

The Borisoglebsk base has faced similar trouble before. Ukrainian forces struck the same facility twice in 2025, destroying fuel tanks and bombing equipment. It seems the lesson about spreading out valuable aircraft has still not been learned.

This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation