Russia said on Monday that it shot down a Ukrainian drone near one of its long-range bomber air bases deep inside its own territory, killing three Russian air force personnel.
The drone was allegedly flying near Russia’s Engels air base, which is home to long-range strategic bombers capable of targeting Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. The incident caused no damage to the planes, according to a defense ministry statement carried out by Russian news agencies.
The air base, one of two strategic bomber bases housing Russia’s air-delivered nuclear capability, is near Saratov, about 450 miles southeast of Moscow and hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian frontlines.
There was no immediate response from Ukraine, which has never publicly claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia but refers to them as “karma” for Russia’s invasion on February 24.
The same base was attacked by Ukrainian drones earlier this month, Russia said at the time.
“A Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region,” according to a statement released by the defense ministry on Monday.
“Three Russian servicemen of the technical staff who were at the airfield were fatally wounded as a result of falling drone wreckage.”
Russia has between 60 and 70 strategic bomber planes of two types: Tu-95MS Bear and Tu-160 Blackjack. Both can transport nuclear bombs, nuclear-armed cruise missiles, and conventional munitions.
Moscow has used its air force to launch cruise missiles in a “special military operation” to degrade Ukraine’s military capability. Kiev has called such attacks war crimes and compared Russia to a terrorist state.
The earlier attack on the same base on December 5, along with another attack on another base the same day, raised concerns about the effectiveness of Russian air defenses and shocked Russian commentators.
They speculated on social media that if Ukraine could strike that far inside Russia, it could also strike Moscow.
Earlier on Monday, Roman Busargin, governor of the Saratov region, stated that no civil infrastructure facilities were damaged in the latest incident at the base, which he said was being investigated by authorities.
“There is absolutely no threat to residents … Civil infrastructure facilities were not damaged,” Busargin added.
