[ad_1]
A satellite image of a plane at the Engels air base in Saratov, Russia, earlier this month.
Photo:
MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/via REUTERS
LVIV, Ukraine—Three Russian service members were killed during a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian military air base, officials there said, the latest apparent demonstration of Kyiv’s ability to strike military targets inside Russia.
The strike at the Engels air base in Saratov region, a hub for Russia’s strategic bombers, is the second this month.
The governor of the region, Roman Busargin, and state news agencies cited the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that a Ukrainian aerial drone was shot down overnight by Russian air defenses as it approached the base. Falling debris from the craft killed three service members, but no warplanes were damaged, the ministry said.
Russian social-media channels reported that locals heard an explosion and saw a fire at the base. Russia has in the past claimed that no aircraft were damaged in Ukrainian attacks, only for satellite images to prove them wrong.
Kyiv didn’t immediately comment on the incident.
Russian officials on Dec. 5 said that Ukrainian drones struck Engels and another base in Ryazan, killing three service members and injuring four.
Engels has been used to launch air raids and missile strikes on Ukraine. Russia has used long-range aircraft stationed at the base to fire cruise missiles at Ukraine, military analysts say. The bombers are also capable of carrying nuclear weapons, forming part of Russia’s triad of nuclear forces along with land-based and submarine-launched nuclear missiles.
Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
[ad_2]
