"Neptune" Attack: Ukrainian Armed Forces Deal A Massive Blow To Russian Air Forces

• 15.10.2026, 16:47

More Su-34s have been destroyed than the Russian Federation built in a year.

As a result of a strike by Ukrainian “Neptune” missiles on the Russian “Borisoglebsk” airfield on the night of October 15, Russia may have lost more Su-34 fighter-bombers than it received from its own defense-industrial complex throughout all of 2026. This is reported by Defense Express.

According to the Ukrainian Navy, the attack succeeded in striking six Su-34 aircraft, which the Russian military uses to drop guided bombs equipped with UMPK kits. These munitions pose a threat to Ukrainian positions and frontline territories.

“The destruction of six Su-34s at once exceeds the rate at which such aircraft are being delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces this year,” the publication notes.

According to Defense Express, the Russian defense-industrial complex typically delivers combat aircraft in small batches of two or three aircraft. In 2025, Russia announced seven batches of Su-34s totaling 18 aircraft. In 2026, even based on statements from the Russian side, the Russian Armed Forces could have received only four to five new aircraft of this type. Thus, according to the publication’s assessment, a single Ukrainian strike on the airbase exceeded the total number of all known Su-34 deliveries this year.

At the same time, Russian air force losses are not limited to the results of the October 15 attack. As Defense Express notes, according to publicly available data, Russia had already lost three Su-34s—either destroyed or damaged—by that point.

“Consequently, we can conclude that as of today, Russia has lost at least nine Su-34s as a result of combat damage this year alone,” the publication states.

The authors of the article note that such losses are gradually weakening the Russian military’s ability to launch guided airstrikes on frontline areas in Ukraine.