One of the bases houses bomber planes that are part of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces; the drones were reportedly shot down but the debris caused some damage.
«:»Russia said on Monday that three of its military personnel were killed in what it said were Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian air bases hundreds of kilometres from the front lines in Ukraine. Ukraine did not directly claim responsibility. If it did carry out the attacks, they were the deepest military strikes it has conducted inside the Russian heartland since Moscow invaded on February 24. One of the targets, the Engels air base near the city of Saratov, houses bomber planes that are part of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces. “The Kyiv regime, in order to disable Russian long-range aircraft, made attempts to strike with Soviet-made unmanned jet aerial vehicles at the military airfields Dyagilevo, in the Ryazan region, and Engels, in the Saratov region,” the Russian defence ministry said. It said the drones, flying at low altitude, were intercepted by air defences and shot down. The debris caused slight damage to two aircraft, it said, and four people were wounded. The ministry called it a “terrorist act” aimed at disrupting its long-range aviation.
