On the night of August 7, 2026, a series of powerful explosions rocked the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, leading to a massive fire at the 'Gvardeyskoye' military airfield. According to local residents and monitoring channels, strikes on the facility were carried out in two waves, and the pillar of fire was visible from several kilometers away. The incident occurred at night when the airfield, a key hub for launching attack drones, became the target of retaliatory actions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Timeline of strikes and scale of the fire
According to eyewitness reports recorded in the Telegram channel 'Crimean Wind,' the sounds of impacts on the airfield were heard during two time intervals: from 03:30 to 03:39 and from 04:34 to 04:47. This indicates a coordinated series of attacks aimed at destroying the facility's infrastructure. Residents of nearby settlements report that the fire was so intense that it illuminated the night sky, making the flash visible from many kilometers away from the epicenter. In the footage published online, two main fire sources are clearly visible, engulfing hangars and warehouse premises.
Target of the attack: destruction of 'Shahed' stockpiles
The 'Gvardeyskoye' airfield is one of the strategically important objects for the Russian military grouping in Crimea. Russian occupation forces actively use this base to launch 'Shahed' type attack drones against the territory of Ukraine. According to the latest data, fuel and lubricant (FLO) warehouses and, presumably, ammunition storage facilities are burning on the site. Periodic detonations are still heard in the area of the fire, indicating that the fire has reached warehouses with explosives or missiles. The destruction of such infrastructure deals a serious blow to the enemy's logistics and strike potential.
Additional strikes on Crimea and Yekaterinburg
On the night of August 7, the activity of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was not limited to Crimea alone. A hit was recorded in Feodosia, likely on a concentration of military equipment in the area of the former 13th military town on Kerch Highway. Also, in the Malorechenskoye area near Alushta, residents heard four powerful explosions near a large substation. In parallel with the strikes on Crimea, Ukrainian drones struck a Wildberries marketplace warehouse in Yekaterinburg, located 1700 km from the border, demonstrating the expansion of the geography of retaliatory operations.
Contradictory data
In the course of covering the events in Feodosia, discrepancies arose regarding the target of the strike. Initially, information spread on social networks that a local oil depot had been hit by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. However, this version was subsequently refuted. According to updated data, the strike hit a concentration of equipment in the area of the military town, not a civilian object. Furthermore, the exact list of destroyed equipment at the 'Gvardeyskoye' airfield remains unknown, as Russian authorities do not provide detailed reports on losses, limiting themselves to general phrases about 'attempts at sabotage'.
