Russia kept troops at an aviation school beside Luhansk’s dead airfield. A week after the last strike, Ukraine hit the area again

On 3 November, Ukraine's Defense Forces launched a strike against a military site near the former airfield in the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk, according to Ukrainian military outlet Militarnyi. This was the second attack on the location in a week, following drone attacks on the occupied city's phone network the day prior. Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine relies heavily on resources stationed behind the front lines, including ammunition, aircraft, fuel, and troops.

The strike targeted the abandoned airfield, with black smoke rising from a fire at a military unit's grounds, as reported by Exilenova+ on Ukraine's Telegram channel. The Exilenova+ video captured a thick column of dark smoke rising behind houses on the outskirts of the city. Supernova+ described the area as an ammunition storage site, while Pro-Russian Telegram channel LNR Today reported an explosion and a large fire near Luhansk airport.

Russian Ka-52 and Mi-28 attack helicopters, as well as Mi-8/Mi-17 transport helicopters, had previously been spotted at the airfield. The former Luhansk Higher Military Aviation School of Navigators stood next to the airfield, which Russian occupation troops had used to house personnel and equipment.

While Ukraine's General Staff has not claimed responsibility for the strike, Russia's occupation authorities in Luhansk have not commented on the incident. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have successfully downed 856 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over occupied Crimea and the Black Sea. Additionally, drones had targeted the occupied city's phone network infrastructure earlier in the week, with no reported casualties.