Russia says it shot down a Ukrainian drone near the airbase, killing three

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Russia said on Monday it shot down a Ukrainian drone near one of its airbases for long-range bombers on its territory, killing three Russian air force personnel in the incident.

The drone allegedly flew near the Engels airbase in Russia, where long-range strategic bombers that may have been used to target Ukrainian cities and infrastructure are located. The Defense Ministry said in a statement made by Russian news agencies that no aircraft were damaged in the incident.

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However, unconfirmed Russian and Ukrainian social media accounts reported that some planes were destroyed. Reuters was unable to independently verify these reports.

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The airbase, one of Russia’s two nuclear strategic bombing bases, is located near the city of Saratov, about 730 kilometers southeast of Moscow and hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian front lines.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which has never publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks inside Russia, but described it as “mixed” for the February 24 Russian invasion.

Russia said the same base was attacked by Ukrainian drones earlier this month.

“A Ukrainian drone was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airbase in the Saratov region,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

“Three Russian soldiers from the technical team at the airport were fatally injured by the falling drone debris.”

Russia has 60 to 70 strategic bombers of two types – Tupolev Tu-95MS and Tu-160. Both can carry nuclear bombs and nuclear-armed cruise missiles as well as conventional munitions.

Moscow used its air force to fire cruise missiles, which it called a “special military operation” to eliminate Ukraine’s military potential. Kyiv says these attacks constitute war crimes and liken Russia to a terrorist state.

The previous December 5 attack on the same base and another attack on another base on the same day raised questions about the effectiveness of Russian air defense and shocked Russian analysts.

They said on social media that if Ukraine managed to hit that deep inside Russia, it could hit Moscow too.

Earlier on Monday, Saratov region governor Roman Busargin said civilian infrastructure facilities were not damaged in the latest incident at the base, which officials said they were investigating.

“There is absolutely no threat to residents… Civil infrastructure facilities were not damaged,” Busargin said. said.

Lidia Kelly and Andrew Osborn

26.12.2022 12:01 am

source: Noticias

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