Losing the crown jewel of Russia's air force is a humiliation for the ...

The reported first loss of Russia’s most advanced fighter jet in an audacious drone strike is an embarrassing and alarming development for the Kremlin, according to a military aviation specialist.

Ukraine claims to have destroyed an Su-57 warplane on a runway at the Akhtubinsk airfield more than 500km across the border in the latest demonstration of Ukraine’s long range capabilities and Russia’s vulnerabilities. Russian military bloggers confirmed the strike but suggested the £35m jet could be repairable.

But the satellite imagery leaves “not much doubt” that the pride of the Russian fleet has been severely damaged, says Thomas Newdick of military news outlet The War Zone.

On Sunday, Kyiv’s defence intelligence agency (GUR) said the satellite pictures confirmed the strike on one of Russia’s estimated 24 stealth bombers. They showed a damaged jet which appeared to be at the Akhtubinsk airfield near the city of Volgograd.

In a Telegram post, the GUR did not specify how the Su-57 was hit or by which unit of the Ukrainian military, but a popular Russian pro-war military blogger who calls himself “Fighterbomber”, released post claiming the drone had been by a Ukranian drone.

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“Fighterbomber” said the jet fighter was struck by shrapnel and the damage was currently being assessed to see if the aircraft could be repaired. He said if the plane were to be deemed beyond repair it would be the first combat loss of a Su-57.

The GUR said: “The pictures show that on June 7, the Su-57 was standing intact, and on (8 June), there were craters from the explosion and characteristic spots of fire caused by fire damage near it.”

The Su-57, which has been through years of troubled development and is still used only sparingly, is “the most advanced and latest combat aircraft used by Russia” that is supposedly equipped with state of the art stealth capabilities, Mr Newdick said.

“If they have been using them in Ukraine, they have been using them very cautiously and from well within Russian airspace,” he added. “Russia has made a considerable effort not to expose them to risk.”

The apparent loss is another blow for Russian military prestige, after more than two years of heavy losses of military equipment, which could impact Moscow’s ability to market hardware around the world.

The Su-57 is a “point of pride for the Russian military industrial complex, which they have been making an effort to sell to export customers,” said Mr Newdick.

The strike also underlines Ukraine’s burgeoning drone capabilities, following a series of attacks with home-made unmanned aircraft deep inside Russia’s borders.

“As Ukraine has shown over the last few months there is not really any military airfield in the Western half of Russia that is safe from Ukrainian strikes,” the analyst said.

The strike has also stirred discontent among Russian military correspondents, with criticism of the leadership for failing to protect the crown jewel of the fleet.

“All we can add to this is that the cost of repairing one Su-57 could have been used to fully equip several airfields in frontline areas with light shelters for tactical aircraft,” posted popular blogger Rybar, which is run by former defence ministry official Mikhail Zvinchuk.