Examples of environmental harm in Ukraine | return to map

Name: Saky Airbase
Location: Novofedorivka, Crimea

CEOBS database ID: 10770

Context

Saky Airbase is on the west coast of the Crimean peninsula approximately 60 km north of Sevastopol. Since Crimea’s annexation in 2014, it has been occupied by Russia’s 43rd Independent Naval Assault Aviation Regiment, a component of its Black Sea Fleet. Some 30,000 residents of the towns of Novofedorivka, Mykhailivka and Saky live within a 5 km radius of the base, which is also situated between two ecologically important areas and proposed Emerald Network sites,¹ Sakskyi and Kyzyl-Yar.²

Timeline of key incidents 

Saky is used as a training and patrol base for Russian navy pilots and hosts aircraft including SU-30SM fighter jets, SU-24 tactical bombers and Il-76 transports. 

9th August 2022

The base was attacked with UAVs or loitering munitions, targeting aircraft and fuel and ammunition stores; the strike damaged the airfield’s infrastructure and sparked wildfires.  

21st September 2023

The base was attacked using UAVs and Neptune missiles, with the explosions visible from nearby Novofedorivka.

Damage assessment  

Satellite imagery following the first attack revealed at least eight destroyed aircraft, destroyed buildings and cratering. Social media videos showed large smoke plumes from the facility and burned-out vehicles, as well as damaged residential buildings within a 1 km radius.

Environmental harm assessment

Aircraft are composed of metallic materials and plastics and can contain significant volumes of fuel, as well as hydraulic fluid and lubricants. Airfields are often associated with pollution from toxic and environmentally persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are used in fire-fighting foams and in military and aerospace applications. The blasts and fires will have helped disperse pollutants that are present into the local environment. In addition to pre-existing contaminants, stored munitions and fuels affected by the attacks will also have been released. These are likely to have included energetic compounds and propellants, as well as fuels and their combustion products.  

The airfield is adjacent to the Black Sea and close to Kyzyl-Yar lake, 2 km southwards and Sakskie lake to the north – important habitats and prospective Emerald Network sites. Lake Kyzyl-Yar’s wetlands host 20 species of nesting birds. Both locations may have been exposed to pollutants from the base.

Ground and satellite imagery from mid-August confirmed between 2-3 km² of burned vegetation. Fires affected parts of the neighbouring settlement and up to the edges of a small body of water that marks the northerly extension of the Kyzyl-Yar site. Smoke from the fires is likely to have affected local communities and deposited pollutants in the sea.

Longer-term implications

The landscape fires may have impacted locally important habitats and species. While vegetation recovery is visible from satellite imagery from March 2023, local assessment will be needed to gauge their ecological consequences. Many of the pollutants associated with the fires and explosions are persistent in the environment and could continue to affect the area for many years to come. 

Dis/mis-information watch

A statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence incorrectly claimed that no aviation equipment at the airbase was damaged.

External resources

Long-Range Missiles? Special Op? Regardless, Crimean Air Base Blasts Are A ‘Real Quandary’ For Russia | RFE/RL

 

Return to the country map here.