Donuzlav | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Myrnyi, Crimea Near Myrnyi in Ukraine | |||||||
![]() Satellite imagery of Donuzlav air base | |||||||
![]() The former air traffic control tower of the air base | |||||||
Coordinates | 45°19′32″N33°03′01″E / 45.32556°N 33.05028°E | ||||||
Type | Air Base | ||||||
Site information | |||||||
Operator | Russian Air Force (allegedly) | ||||||
Controlled by | Russian Armed Forces | ||||||
Site history | |||||||
In use | 1941 - 1995 2022 - present (allegedly) | ||||||
Airfield information | |||||||
Identifiers | IATA: none, ICAO: XKFD | ||||||
Elevation | 11 metres (36 ft) AMSL | ||||||
|
Donuzlav is an air base near Lake Donuzlav in Crimea, Ukraine. The air base was decommissioned in 1995, but has been claimed to have been revived by the Russian military since the Russo-Ukrainian war.
In 1941, after the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, the Soviet military began to use Donuzlav air base and complement the seaplanes that were already operating on Lake Donuzlav. Throughout the war, the 119th Marine Reconnaissance Regiment was mainly responsible for operating the air base.
In 1958, the 307th Separate aviation squadron operated Ka-15 helicopters on the air base, which later became the 872nd Separate Aviation Helicopter Regiment.
In December 1959, the 270th Separate Naval Long-Range Reconnaissance Squadron was formed as part of the Black Sea Fleet and stationed at the air base.
In September 1969, the 78th Separate Anti-Submarine Helicopter Regiment and stationed at the air base.
In 1995, the General Staff of the Navy disbanded the 318th Separate Anti-submarine Long-Range Aviation Regiment, and relocated a remnant 327th Separate Anti-Submarine Squadron to Kacha Air base. Donuzlav air base was decommissioned afterwards. [1]
In the months leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with some as early as April 2021, [2] there were media reports of satellite images revealing military equipment amassed on the air base. [3] This included over 50 helicopters packed onto the airfield, with some even parking on dirt lots. [4]
The Northern Fleet is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic.
The Black Sea Fleet is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimean Peninsula, are subordinate to the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. The fleet traces its history to its founding by Prince Potemkin on 13 May 1783 as part of the Imperial Russian Navy. The Russian SFSR inherited the fleet in 1918; with the founding of the Soviet Union in 1922, it became part of the Soviet Navy. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Black Sea Fleet was partitioned between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in 1997, with Russia receiving title to 82% of the vessels.
The Russian Air Force is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reborn Russian armed forces began to be created on 7 May 1992 following Boris Yeltsin's creation of the Ministry of Defence. However, the Russian Federation's air force can trace its lineage and traditions back to the Imperial Russian Air Service (1912–1917) and the Soviet Air Forces (1918–1991).
The Baltic Fleet is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea.
The Russian Naval Aviation is the air arm of the Russian Navy, a successor of Soviet Naval Aviation. The Russian Navy is divided into four fleets and one flotilla: Northern Fleet, Pacific Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet, and Caspian Flotilla.
Elizovo Airport, also known as Yelizovo Airport or Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport, is located in the Russian Far East city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka Krai. Its main runway is 3,400 m (11,155 ft) long.
The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 1917. It was then part of the Soviet Armed Forces. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Leningrad Military District to form the new Western Military District. In December 2022, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu proposed to reestablish it along with the Leningrad Military District, a decision confirmed in June 2023 by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Yevgeny Burdinsky. The district was formally reconstituted on 26 February 2024 by a Presidential Decree №141, after the Western Military District was split.
The 4th Guards Air and Air Defence Forces Army is an air army of the Russian Aerospace Forces, part of the Southern Military District and headquartered in Rostov-on-Don.
The Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus is the air force of the Armed Forces of Belarus, formed in 1992 from the 26th Air Army of the Soviet Air Forces which had been serving in the Byelorussian SSR.
The Ukrainian Naval Aviation is a component of the Ukrainian Navy.
The 14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army is an air army of the Russian Aerospace Forces, part of the Central Military District and headquartered at Yekaterinburg.
The Pacific Fleet is the Russian Navy fleet in the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1731 as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the fleet was known as the Okhotsk Military Flotilla (1731–1856) and Siberian Military Flotilla (1856–1918), formed to defend Russian interests in the Russian Far East region along the Pacific coast. In 1918 the fleet was inherited by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, then the Soviet Union in 1922 as part of the Soviet Navy, being reformed several times before being disbanded in 1926. In 1932 it was re-established as the Pacific Fleet, and was known as the Red Banner Pacific Fleet after World War II as it had earned the Order of the Red Banner. In the Soviet years, the fleet was also responsible for the Soviet Navy's operations in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Red Banner Pacific Fleet was inherited by the Russian Federation as part of the Russian Navy and its current name was adopted.
The 76th Air Army was a unit of the Soviet Air Forces from 1949 to 1980, and again from 1988 to 1998. As the 13th Air Army, it was originally formed on 25 November 1942 and based on air units of the Leningrad Front.
The 17th Air Army was an Air army of the Red Air Force and Soviet Air Forces from 1942.
Southern Naval Base was a naval base of the Armed Forces of Ukraine located in the town of Novoozerne on Donuzlav Bay in the western part of Crimea.
Lake Donuzlav, also referred to as Donuzlav Bay, is the deepest lake of Crimea and biggest in Chornomorske Raion. It is a protected landscape and recreational park of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command, was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the northern region of European Russia and the Arctic Ocean.
The Kazakh Air Defense Forces is the aviation warfare branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Their responsibilities include protecting Kazakh airspace, as well as combat missions in support of other branches of the armed forces. The official holiday of the air forces is Aviation Day on August 18.
The 22nd Army Corps is a corps of the coastal defence troops of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. Formed in 2017 after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the corps is headquartered in Simferopol and controls units based in Crimea.
The 45th Air and Air Defense Army is an army of the Russian Aerospace Forces, part of the Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command. It is the successor to the naval aviation of the Northern Fleet.