Ukraine hit a key Russian air base used for nuclear bombers in a nighttime kamikaze drone strike as part of a consolidated aerial bombardment of several border regions.
The “explosions and fires” at the airbase come as pro-Putin sources also accuse kyiv of targeting a nuclear power plant in the Kursk region.
Explosions were heard last night at the Engels air base in the Saratov region, where Vladimir Putin’s Tu-160 “Blackjack”, Tu-95 “Bear” and Tu-22 attack aircraft are based.
All of these planes are capable of carrying nuclear missiles, but were used to strike Ukraine with conventional bombs during the last two years of the war.
Independent Russian media outlet Astra said its sources indicated that three out of four kamikaze drones had struck the Engels-2 air base, with multiple explosions from the drones captured by security cameras.
Ukrainian media today confirmed that the strikes were carried out by the GUR military intelligence agency.
Regional governor Roman Busargin claimed that all incoming Ukrainian drones had been “eliminated” over Engels – but locals gave conflicting versions.
Explosions were heard last night at the Engels air base in the Saratov region, where Vladimir Putin’s Tu-160 “Blackjack”, Tu-95 “Bear” and Tu-22 attack aircraft are based.
A Tu-160 “Blackjack” strategic bomber
Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95MS in flight
Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-22
“The air defense system worked quickly and efficiently. There were no casualties or damage to infrastructure due to falling debris,” Busargin insisted.
But resident Danil Arkhipov told the media this morning: “I live very close to the airfield. He was hit once the others were shot down by air defense.
“Then the ambulance, police and fire brigade with flashing lights were seen.
“The alarm siren continues to wail and something slowly explodes at the airfield. It sounds like something is burning.
Russian media also claimed that Ukraine targeted the Kurchatov nuclear power plant in the Kursk region with at least five kamikaze drones and an S-200 missile.
All were shot down by air defense, pro-Kremlin media outlet Mash reported. But the Vysoka electricity substation was hit, causing a power outage in part of the city of Kursk.
Ukraine has said it would never target a nuclear power plant, but Russian paramilitary supporters opposed to Putin in Ukraine have warned they will strike military targets in the Kursk region.
Meanwhile, the Belgorod border region was under siege again today by Ukraine, after suffering a series of bombings and drone attacks in recent weeks.
Some 9,000 children are to be evacuated from the region that Putin has failed to keep safe, and travel restrictions are being put in place to minimize the number of casualties.
Despite a shortage of Western weapons, Ukraine has scored significant successes in recent weeks with its homemade kamikaze drones – air and sea – using its long-range firepower to strike deep behind Russian lines, hitting oil refineries , depots, manufacturing facilities and supply lines. .
The attacks on the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk have alarmed residents and government officials, particularly after groups claiming to be Russian opponents of the Kremlin based in Ukraine also launched cross-border incursions.
FILE PHOTO: Satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows several Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers at Engels airfield
Russian media also claimed that Ukraine targeted the Kurchatov nuclear power plant in the Kursk region with at least five kamikaze drones and an S-200 missile.
Ukrainian soldiers unload explosive charges at the Adiivka frontline as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues in Adiivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, March 13, 2024.
A still image taken from a video provided by the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry shows military equipment destroyed by Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups at the border crossing near the Nekhoteevka settlement in the Belgorod region, in Russia, March 12, 2024.
Regional governors Viacheslev Gladkov and Roman Stavropoit each reported several civilian casualties following Ukraine’s strikes on their territory last week, and thousands of residents reportedly fled their homes ahead of this weekend’s presidential elections. -end.
Attacks continued this week, with three people injured in a strike in Belgorod yesterday morning, Gladkov said, including a 14-year-old who had part of a limb amputated. His mother was also reportedly injured in the attack.
The day before, four members of the same family died in an attack on the village of Nikolskoe in Belgorod, according to Gladkov.
A grandmother, her mother, her partner and her 17-year-old son were killed after a missile hit their home, he said.
Putin said he would consider creating a buffer zone between Ukrainian and Russian territories to try to reduce the effectiveness of kyiv’s air attacks.
“We will be obliged at some point, when we consider it necessary, to create a certain ‘sanitary zone’ in the territories controlled by (the Ukrainian government), Putin said on Sunday after the publication of election results which showed him obtaining a fifth six-year term with a landslide victory.
This “safe zone would be quite difficult to penetrate using the foreign strike assets available to the enemy.”
Russia has also stepped up its air attacks on various Ukrainian cities in recent weeks.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it intercepted 17 of 22 Shahed drones launched by Russia over various regions of the country last night.
Russia also fired five S-300/S-400 missiles at the Kharkiv region and two Kh-59 at the Sumy region, both located in northeastern Ukraine, the statement said.
Authorities say the intensity of ground and air attacks has recently increased in the Sumy region, prompting the evacuation of 56 people, including 26 children, from a border village over the past week.
Over the past two and a half months, the region has been struck more than 3,000 times, following some 8,000 strikes in all of last year, according to Ukraine’s regional government.