MOSCOW (Reuters) – Ukraine struck Russia’s Engels strategic bomber base on Thursday with drones, triggering a significant blast and hearth about 700 km (435 miles) from the entrance traces of the conflict, Russian officers and media reported.
Unverified video on Russian Telegram channels confirmed a significant blast spreading out from the airfield, wrecking close by cottages. Russia’s defence ministry mentioned air defences had shot down 132 Ukrainian drones over Russian areas.
Video verified by Reuters primarily based on the place and form of buildings confirmed a plume of smoke rising above broken cottages.
The bottom in Engels, which dates again to early Soviet instances, hosts Russia’s Tupolev Tu-160 nuclear-capable heavy strategic bombers, recognized unofficially as White Swans.
Roman Busargin, the governor of Saratov, mentioned there had been a Ukrainian drone assault on town of Engels that had left an airfield on hearth, and that close by residents had been evacuated. He didn’t particularly point out the Engels base, however it’s the essential airfield within the space.
Engels district head Maxim Leonov mentioned {that a} native state of emergency had been declared however gave few particulars. Reuters was unable to independently affirm what had taken place on the airfield.
Ukraine has performed earlier assaults on the Engels air base courting again to December 2022. In January it claimed to have struck an oil depot serving the bottom, inflicting an enormous hearth that took 5 days to place out.
A Ukrainian safety supply mentioned on the time {that a} drone assault had struck a storage facility holding guided bombs and missiles on the Engels base.
(Reporting by Reuters; Enhancing by Man Faulconbridge and Mark Trevelyan)
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