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Attacks by unmanned drones were reported in Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov and Ryazan regions as well as the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.
Moscow: A massive fire erupted at a Russian airport bordering Estonia after Ukrainian drones destroyed several military aircraft and disrupted air traffic, Russian officials said early on Wednesday, hours after the funeral service for Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Attacks by unmanned drones were reported in Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov and Ryazan regions as well as the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, officials told Reuters.
BREAKING:
Mass attack on the airport in Pskov, Russia with kamikaze drones.
It is being investigated whether the drones come from Estonia, a NATO member state.
Over 20 kamikaze drones, the same as those used by Ukraine in its attacks so far, have made their way to Pskov… pic.twitter.com/k5EZP08ugq
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) August 29, 2023
A Russian airport near the border with Estonia came under drone attack with several planes being damaged, Regional governor Mikhail Vedernikov told AFP.
The regional governor, who said he was at the scene of the attack, posted a video on Telegram of a massive fire, with the sounds of explosions and sirens in the background.
A drone attack “has been repelled in Pskov airport,” Vedernikov wrote, adding authorities were assessing the damage but there were no casualties.
Pskov is located roughly 800 kilometres (nearly 500 miles) from Ukraine’s border and the surrounding region borders EU member states Latvia and Estonia.
There was no immediate comment from the defence ministry but four heavy transport planes were reportedly damaged.
Vedernikov further stated that all Wednesday flights at the airport were cancelled until the nature of the possible damage to the runway is clarified.
State news agency TASS, citing emergency services, said that four Ilyushin Il-76 heavy transport planes had been damaged. TASS also reported that airspace above Moscow’s Vnukovo airport had been closed.
The region of Pskov was previously targeted by drones in May. Moscow and other Russian regions have been targeted in recent weeks by a barrage of Ukrainian drone attacks after Kyiv vowed this summer to “return” the conflict to Russia.
In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up its drone war against Russia, often hitting targets deep inside the Russian territory in support of a ground offensive that is meeting stiff resistance on the southern and eastern front lines.
Both Ukraine and Russia have ramped up activity in the area after a United Nations-brokered deal to ensure safe navigation for grain ships in the Black Sea collapsed last month.
Russia has since pounded Ukraine’s port infrastructure on the sea and on the Danube River. On the other hand, Kyiv has also attacked Russian ships in its waters and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Last week, Moscow’s defence ministry said one of its jets destroyed a Ukrainian “reconnaissance boat” near Russian gas production facilities in the Black Sea.
It later said it also destroyed a US-made speedboat carrying Ukrainian troops east of Snake Island, without providing further detail.
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