This was reported by Russian news agencies, citing the Ministry of Defense. It was the second attack on the base this month.
“A Ukrainian UAV was shot down at low altitude as it approached the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region,” the news agencies reported, citing the Russian ministry. “Three Russian soldiers from the technical staff who were on the airfield were fatally wounded by the crash of the wreckage of the drone.”
According to media reports, four people were also injured. “The aircraft technology was not damaged,” emphasized the military leadership. Strategic bombers are stationed in Engels, and Russia uses their missiles to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The city on the Volga is more than 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Response to Russian missiles
It is not the first drone attack on the airfield. According to Russian sources, two planes were damaged in an attack in early December. At the same time, a military airfield in Ryazan, 200 kilometers south-east of Moscow, was attacked. The attacks are said to be in response to Russian rocket fire.
The Russian military launched more than 40 rocket attacks on Sunday, according to Ukrainian sources. Dozens of cities in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions have been shelled in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military announced Monday morning. In the direction of Kherson, the enemy continued artillery shelling of populated areas along the right bank of the Dnieper. Ukrainian forces launched attacks on nearly 20 Russian targets.
Previously, Ukrainian and Russian media had reported that at least one explosion had occurred at the Russian air base in Engels, hundreds of kilometers behind the Ukrainian border. The RBC-Ukraine news agency reported two explosions. The Russian news agency Baza, citing local residents, reported that air raid sirens wailed and an explosion was heard. Engels is one of two air bases of the Strategic Nuclear Forces.
An incident at Engels Air Force Base in Russia’s Saratov Region is being investigated, but there has been no damage to civilian infrastructure, a local governor said, following media reports of the blast. “There were no emergencies in residential areas of the city of Engels,” said Roman Busargin, the region’s governor, on the news app Telegram.
“There is absolutely no threat to residents … Civil infrastructure facilities were not damaged. Information about the incident at a military facility is being examined by law enforcement agencies.
Engels air base near the city of Saratov, some 730 km (450 miles) south-east of Moscow, had previously been hit by Ukrainian drone strikes on December 5 on two Russian air bases. The twin attacks severely damaged Moscow’s image and raised questions as to why Russia’s defenses failed, analysts say. Ukraine has never publicly acknowledged attacks inside Russia, but has said such incidents are “karma” for the Russian invasion.
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