British intelligence deems Ukrainian UAV attack on Russia's Engels airbase most successful of 2025
Explosion at Engels-2 airfield. Photos: Russian media
The intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom considers the attack of Ukraine's armed forces on the Russian air base "Engels-2" on the night of March 20 to be the most successful strike on the Russian Federation this year.
The Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom reported this on the social network X.
As noted by British analysts, on the night of March 20, the Ukrainian military carried out an attack from an unmanned aerial vehicle on an ammunition depot located at the Russian strategic aviation air base "Engels-2".
British intelligence assumed that, almost certainly, in the territory that was hit, a whole range of aviation ammunition used against Ukraine is stored.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 25 March 2025.
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The review also notes that significant losses are likely to disrupt the conduct of strike operations from the airfield in the short term.
"Russian aircraft were most likely dispersed to surrounding airfields, which has become standard practice in response to Ukrainian operations to carry out deep strikes," British intelligence officials said.
The British Ministry of Defense also emphasized that this strike was Ukraine's most successful attack on a Russian ammunition depot in 2025.
It should be noted that on the night of March 20, drones attacked the Engels airfield in the Russian Federation. This drone strike was a special operation by Ukrainian special services.
At that time, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that on the night of March 20, air defense forces allegedly shot down 132 Ukrainian drones. In particular, the city of Engels in the Saratov region was massively attacked by drones. The Engels military airfield was under attack.
As a result of the successful attack by drones of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine's armed forces in the area of the airfield, the following were recorded: fire, explosions, and secondary detonation of ammunition. According to sources, Russian air defense systems acted ineffectively and hit civilian buildings and infrastructure facilities in the cities of Engels and Saratov with missiles.
Later, the Central Defense Command said that the missile strike on the Russian Engels could have destroyed the missiles. In particular, the Russians could have lost a Kh-101 formation. Satellite images of the consequences of the strike appeared on the network.
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The Engels airfield is a key base for Russian strategic aviation. Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3, and Tu-160 bombers are deployed there, as are warehouses with guided aerial bombs and cruise missiles. Planes take off from there to launch missile strikes on Ukraine.
It should be noted that this is not the first attack on the Engels airfield. Thus, on the night of January 14, unknown strike UAVs attacked several regions: as a result, a powerful fire broke out at an industrial enterprise in the city of Engels, Saratov region. Residents of Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan) also complained about the UAV attack, where the fire engulfed the Orgsintez plant.
Later, it was reported that the Ukrainian Defense Forces again struck the infrastructure of the Russian military airfield Engels-2 on the night of January 14. Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft of the 22nd heavy bomber air division of the Russian Federation are based there.
Also on the night of January 8, unknown drones attacked the city of Engels. They targeted an oil storage facility and hit the Kristal plant of Rosrezerv.
