Monitoring Desk
MOSCOW: Moscow on Monday claimed that a Ukrainian drone attack on an airbase for bombers in southern Russia had left three people dead.
The defense ministry said air defences shot down the drone near the Engels base, but falling debris fatally wounded three technical staff.
Earlier this month, Moscow accused Kyiv of a similar attack on the airfield, home to bombers carrying missile attacks on Ukraine.
The base lies about 650km (400 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border.
The Ukrainian military officials did not officially admit to the latest drone attack. Still, air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the explosions resulted from Russia’s actions on Ukrainian soil.
Russian bombers’ response
Hours afterward, Russia’s FSB security service announced it had killed a four-strong “sabotage group” trying to enter Bryansk, the Russian border region, from Ukraine. The group was armed with improvised explosive devices and German-made submachine guns. The FSB released a video of what it said was the “liquidation” of the group, although there is no independent confirmation of the incident.
The latest drone attack inside Russia will embarrass Russian authorities soon after the two 5 December attacks hundreds of kilometers from the front line – both in the Ryazan region and at the Engels base. Meanwhile, Russia also blamed falling debris for the deaths of three service members and what it described as light damage to two aircraft.
Social media on Monday posted videos of blasts and air sirens in the vicinity of Engels airfield.
Russia’s defence ministry later said on Monday that its air defences had struck down the drone flying at a low altitude at about 01:35.
Saratov governor Roman Busargin expressed his condolences to the soldiers’ families and friends and maintained there was “absolutely no threat to residents” in the Engels town itself.
The Ukrainian air force spokesman said the airfield’s satellite imagery would soon reveal the complete damage from Monday’s attack, adding that earlier blasts had damaged aircraft at the base.
Russia has repeatedly used the Engels air base to carry out missile strikes on various targets in Ukraine since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking its territory before, but the latest incidents have taken place far deeper in the Russian region.
