An overnight attack on the Borisoglebsk military airfield in Russia’s Voronezh region hit six Su-34M bomber jets, destroying four and damaging two, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 15.
“The Russians used them (the Su-34Ms) to terrorize our people. These aircraft were ready for new strikes on Ukraine and were equipped with aerial bombs,” Zelensky said.
“Russia is dragging out the war, therefore, our long-range operations will continue,” he added.
The attack was carried out with the Neptune coastal missile system, Ukraine’s naval forces said on Telegram. Ukraine’s General Staff said that explosions and a fire were recorded on the airfield territory.
Voronezh Oblast Governor Alexander Gusev warned several times of a drone attack. Online footage of the attack filmed by local residents showed explosions and a large fire at the airfield. The Borisoglebsk military airfield is about 370 kilometers (about 230 miles) from the front line.
Neptune is Ukraine’s ground-launched, domestically produced anti-ship cruise missile with a maximum range of several hundred kilometers which it used in April 2022 to sink Russia’s Black Sea flagship, the Moskva.
In 2025, Ukraine unveiled an upgraded version of the missile, which had already demonstrated a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). In March 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the system had successfully completed testing and would be deployed for combat use.
The Su-34M is a heavily modernized, upgraded variant of the baseline Su-34 fighter-bomber. The Russian Su-34 is a Russian medium-range fighter-bomber. Ukrainian forces have targeted the warplanes in attacks on Russian military airfields and have reported downing the jets on several occasions.