Drones Strike Russian Khanskaya Air Base in Adygea

Ukrainian strike drones targeted the Khanskaya military airfield near the city of Maykop in Russia’s North Caucasus Republic of Adygea early Sunday morning, Oct. 4, sparking a large fire across the facility, open-source monitoring channels and satellite thermal tracking indicated. Local residents reported that the drone assault began shortly after 1:00 a.m. local time and continued through the early morning hours, with regional monitoring channels reporting repeated drone passages and active air defense fire around Maykop.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Geolocation footage published on social media confirmed an active fire at the military airfield, situated approximately six kilometers outside Maykop and roughly 500 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory. Thermal anomalies at the airfield were independently corroborated by NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), which detected high-temperature fire signatures across the operational perimeter of the air base. The airfield serves as the home station for the Russian Aerospace Forces’ 272nd Training Aviation Base, formed after the disbandment of the 761st Training Aviation Regiment in 2009. Beyond its training designation, Russian forces actively utilize the installation as an operational logistics, staging, and refueling facility to support tactical aviation units executing missile and glide bomb strikes against Ukrainian territory. Other Topics of Interest Vilnius Airport Closes as NATO Jets Scramble Over Suspected Drone Whilst the alert was lifted after about 50 minutes, authorities are continuing to investigate the unidentified object. Satellite imagery of the airfield recorded in recent months showed multiple combat and support aircraft deployed at the facility, including Su-24 strike aircraft, Su-30, Su-34, and Su-35S multi-role fighters, L-39 jet trainers, Mi-8 utility helicopters, and military transport aircraft. The installation was previously targeted by Ukrainian deep-strike operations in December. Deep-strike campaign against Russian air and drone assets The overnight strike against Khanskaya marks the second consecutive long-range engagement targeting major Russian aviation and launch infrastructure within a 24-hour window. Early Saturday morning, Oct. 3, Ukrainian strike drones hit the Tsymbulovo droneport in Russia’s western Oryol region, sparking multiple fires across storage and launch facilities identified by open-source intelligence and NASA thermal sensors. The Oryol complex functions as Moscow’s primary launch hub for high-speed, turbojet-powered Geran-4 and Geran-5 loitering munitions directed against Kyiv. Satellite monitoring throughout September documented rapid construction at the Tsymbulovo base, including eight reinforced domed shelters, new paved launch ramps, and 14 hangars, alongside efforts to convert surface-level storage shelters into underground bunkers to withstand drone strikes. Tymur Dubovyk - journalist, newsfeed editor