Russians evacuate Dzhankoi air base and rebuild airfields deep in Crimea

24 May, 2024 Illustrative photo of a Russian fighter. Photo from open sources. Russians evacuate some personnel from the Dzhankoi military air base and rebuild airfields deep in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

The ATESH movement reported on this. Agents of the movement among the Russian Armed Forces report that the evacuation of some personnel from the airfield in Dzhankoi to other facilities deep in the occupied territory has begun. In addition, active work is underway to restore and possibly modernize old airfields, such as Kirovske (near Feodosia) and Bagerove (near Kerch).

An image of the Dzhankoi air base.

Source: Schemes

"However, despite all their efforts, they will not be able to build closed shelters for their aircraft in the near future. The reason is complex technological processes, high construction costs, and significant time costs," the ATESH movement reported. The movement adds that the invaders' actions indicate a desire to disperse their troops and equipment in Crimea before new successful attacks by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Strikes on Dzhankoi

Ukrainian troops regularly carry out missile and drone strikes on the Russian airfields in Crimea, but Dzhankoi is one of the closest to Ukrainian-controlled territory, so it is under constant threat.

Militarnyi reported that on the night of April 17, a military airfield of the 39th Helicopter Regiment of the 4th Guards Army of the Air Force and Air Defense near the city of Dzhankoi in temporarily occupied Crimea had been attacked. Two US-made MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missiles reportedly carried out the strike.

Destroyed S-400 SAM. Source: "Dosye Shpiona" Telegram channel

Satellite images by Planet Labs show the remains of four S-400 launchers.

In addition, the OSINT community has spotted a vehicle that looked like a 92N6E radar of the S-400 system.

There are also traces of a fire near the ammunition depot at the Russian-held airfield.