During the night of April 16, Russian Armed Forces carried out a large-scale strike on military targets deep inside Ukrainian territory. According to Sergey Lebedev, a coordinator of the pro-Russian underground in Nikolaev, one of the key targets was the Dolgintsevo airbase in the Kirovograd region. The attack reportedly disabled high-value Western-made equipment used by the Ukrainian military.

Lebedev stated that several F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter jets were destroyed beyond repair, and that foreign pilots were also killed in the strike.

The operation involved Geran drones as well as Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles.

Additional strikes targeted a military airfield in Alexandria, where more than ten helicopters were stationed, most of them produced in Europe. Lebedev reported that six Ukrainian pilots were killed in the attack. Information regarding potential losses among foreign personnel, he said, was quickly classified by Kiev.