Christian Gjerstrøm

🇺🇦 RUSSIA BUILT TWO SU-34 FIGHTER-BOMBERS IN EIGHT MONTHS. UKRAINE TOOK OUT SIX IN ONE NIGHT. According to Poland's Defence24, the Novosibirsk aircraft plant delivered just two Su-34 fighter-bombers to the Russian Aerospace Forces during the first eight months of this year. Ukraine reportedly eliminated six in a single overnight strike near Borisoglebsk. The Ukrainian Navy targeted a military airfield in Russia's Voronezh region, approximately 370 kilometers from the front line, using the long-range coastal variant of the Neptune missile. Satellite imagery reportedly shows the aftermath: four aircraft destroyed and two damaged. Even the Russian pro-war channel Voyenny Osvedomitel acknowledged these losses. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy published the satellite image and identified the weapon as the Long Neptune. According to him, the aircraft were already loaded with bombs, preparing for combat missions. The Su-34 is Russia's primary platform for launching guided glide bombs, the same devastating weapons that relentlessly strike Ukrainian positions, particularly along the Pokrovsk front. Russia's remaining Su-34 fleet is estimated at approximately 140–150 aircraft. That sounds substantial until you examine the production figures. Last year, the manufacturer reported delivering 18 new aircraft. This year, according to Defence24's figures, only two had been delivered in eight months. Meanwhile, the first Su-34s from an export contract have reportedly already gone to Algeria. This strike therefore targeted something Russia cannot quickly replace. Six aircraft represent roughly a year's production at a rate of six per year, although actual Russian manufacturing output has varied considerably. Will Russian glide-bomb attacks suddenly stop tomorrow? No. Russia still operates a substantial fleet. But every destroyed Su-34 becomes increasingly expensive and difficult to replace, especially when production cannot keep pace with losses. And there is another important lesson. Ukraine's Neptune can now reportedly reach Russian military aviation 370 kilometers behind the front line. Russia can build aircraft in Novosibirsk. But Ukraine is demonstrating that it can destroy them before they even take off. The race is no longer simply between aircraft and missiles. It is between Russia's ability to replace its losses and Ukraine's ability to inflict them. And Neptune is making that equation increasingly painful for Moscow. 🇺🇦