Russian Air Force Su-27/30 Damaged

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said its 1st Separate Centre struck Vityazevo airfield near Anapa, Krasnodar Krai, on 23 August 2026, publishing footage of impacts and fires. The Ukrainian command identified the aircraft as a Su-33; analysts reviewing the same footage assessed it instead as a two-seat Su-30SM from the shape of the spine behind the cockpit, and the Aviation Safety Network catalogued it as such. The drone is reported to have detonated alongside rather than on the airframe, starting a fire that ground crews fought, which would leave the fighter repairable but out of service for an extended period. Russia has not commented and no independent imagery has been published.