3 killed in Ukraine drone attacks on airbases deep inside Russia
- One base houses bomber planes that are part of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces; the drones were reportedly shot down, but the debris caused some damage
- Kyiv did not directly claim responsibility for what would be the deepest military strikes conducted inside Russia since the invasion began
A fire broke out early Tuesday at an airport in Russia’s southern Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, the regional governor reported, blaming a drone attack.
The blaze occurred the day after Moscow blamed Kyiv for fatal drone strikes on two airbases deep inside Russia and launched another wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian territory.
“As a result of a drone attack, an oil reservoir caught on fire in the area of Kursk airport. The fire is being contained. All emergency services are working on the spot,” Kursk Governor Roman Starovoy said in a Telegram post.
Ukrainian officials have not formally confirmed carrying out the attacks. The unprecedented attacks in Russia threatened a major escalation of the nine-month war. One of the airfields that was hit on Monday houses bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
The attacks showed the vulnerability of some of Russia’s most strategic military sites, raising questions about the effectiveness of their air defences if drones could come so close to them.
The ministry did not say where the drones had originated, but Russian military bloggers said they likely were launched by Ukrainian scouts.
On Monday Russia said that three of its military personnel were killed in what it said were Ukrainian drone attacks on airbases used by Moscow’s long-range bombers hundreds of kilometres from the front lines.
Two aircraft were damaged while three people died and four were wounded when the drones crashed after being intercepted by air-defences, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said.
If Ukraine did carry out the drone attacks, they were the deepest military strikes it has conducted inside the Russian heartland since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24.
One of the targets, the Engels airbase near the city of Saratov, houses bomber planes that are part of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces.
The Russian defence ministry said the drones, flying at low altitude, were shot down. It called it a “terrorist act” aimed at disrupting its long-range aviation and said Russia responded with a “massive strike on the military control system and related objects of the defences complex, communication centres, energy and military units of Ukraine with high-precision air- and sea-based weapons”.
Ukraine said it shot down more than 60 of over 70 missiles launched by Russia on Monday – the latest in weeks of attacks targeting its critical infrastructure that have cut off power, heat and water to many parts of the country.
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Russia’s RIA news agency said the three airbase deaths occurred in Ryazan, 185km (115 miles) southeast of Moscow. The other base hit was Engels, about 730km southeast of Moscow.
Russia has 60 to 70 strategic bomber planes of two types: the Tu-95MS Bear and the Tu-160 Blackjack. Both are capable of carrying nuclear bombs and nuclear-armed cruise missiles.
Saratov is at least 600km from the nearest Ukrainian-held territory. Russian commentators noted on social media that if Ukraine could strike that far inside Russia, it may also be capable of hitting Moscow.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that President Vladimir Putin was aware of the incidents but declined to comment further.
Ukrainian officials acknowledged the incidents on social media with tongue-in-cheek comments.
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter: “If something is launched into other countries’ airspace, sooner or later unknown flying objects will return to (their) departure point.”
Ukraine has previously demonstrated the ability to strike strategic Russian targets far beyond the 1,100km-long front line in south and eastern Ukraine.
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In August, at least seven Russian warplanes were destroyed by explosions at a Russian airbase on the southwest coast of Russian-annexed Crimea.
Ukraine did not publicly claim responsibility for that, or for a spate of explosions at sites such as weapons stores and fuel depots in Russian regions close to the border with Ukraine.
It has said, however, that such incidents are “karma” for Russia’s invasion.
The United Nations Security Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss “humanitarian issues” in Ukraine at the request of “Western countries”, Russian deputy UN envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy said on Telegram. States at the meeting would also likely criticise the Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, he said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg, Associated Press
