Moscow reports that a Ukrainian drone strike on a bomber airbase in southern Russia resulted in the deaths of three individuals.
The drone was shot down by air defenses near the Engels base, but falling debris killed three technical personnel, according to the defense ministry.
Earlier this month, Russia accused Ukraine of a similar attack on an airbase from which bombers launched missiles against Ukraine.
The installation is 650 kilometers (400 miles) north-northeast of Ukraine’s border.
The Ukrainian military did not formally acknowledge the latest strike, but air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat stated that the explosions were the consequence of Russian actions on Ukrainian territory.
Hours later, Russia’s FSB security service said that it had killed a four-member “sabotage group” attempting to cross into the Russian border region of Bryansk from Ukraine while armed with homemade explosive devices and submachine guns manufactured in Germany. The FSB issued a film depicting the alleged “liquidation” of the group, despite the lack of independent corroboration of the event.
The new drone strike inside Russia will humiliate Russian authorities, given its proximity to the two attacks on 5 December hundreds of kilometers from the front line – both at the Engels facility and in the Ryazan region. At the time, Russia also attributed the deaths of three personnel and light damage to two aircraft to falling debris.
Early Monday morning, videos of explosions and air sirens in the neighborhood of Engels airfield were circulated on social media.
Monday around 1:35 a.m., Russia’s defense ministry reported that its air defenses had shot down a drone flying at low altitude (22:35 GMT Sunday).
The governor of Saratov, Roman Busargin, offered his sympathies to the men’s families and friends and stated that there was “absolutely no threat” to Engels residents.
The spokesman for the Ukrainian air force stated that satellite photography of the airfield would soon disclose the full extent of Monday’s strike, adding that prior explosions at the station had damaged planes.
Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia has repeatedly used the Engels air station to carry out missile strikes against numerous Ukrainian targets.
The Kremlin has previously accused Ukraine of invading its land, but the most recent instances occurred much further within Russian territory.
After the strikes on 5 December, there were widespread requests for increased security surrounding Russian military installations; however, the most recent incident indicates that this has not occurred.
