Residents of Maykop, capital of Russian Federation’s Republic of Adygea, reported explosions near the Khanskaya military airfield, according to independent Russian news outlet Astra.
Eyewitnesses also posted videos of the explosions. Astra has geolocated one of the videos. In the early morning hours of Dec. 29, residents of Maykop, in the Caucasus Mountains in southwestern Russia, reported explosions near the Khanskaya military airfield.
Eyewitness footage with sounds of gunfire and explosions appeared online. The footage was filmed on Novaya Street in Maykop, according to Astra. The distance from the filming location to the Khanskaya airfield is approximately 6.5 kilometers.
The footage also shows air defense activity. “The air defense position is located southeast of the airfield’s runway. The direction of fire is east-northeast,” an Astra OSINT analyst assessed.
The Khanskaya military airfield belongs to the Russian Ministry of Defense in the Republic of Adygea. It is located about 3 kilometers east of the Khanskaya Stanitsa and 6 kilometers northwest of the city of Maykop.
At the time of publication Ukraine had not claimed responsibility for the attack.
On Oct. 10, however, dozens of Ukrainian combat UAVs targeted the Khanskaya Airfield in a joint operation by Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Khanskaya Airfield houses the 272nd Polotsk Aviation Training Base, part of the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School. This facility has been used by Russian forces to refuel aircraft and launch missile and bomb attacks on Ukrainian Defense Forces and civilian settlements.