Ukrainian drones struck targets in at least six regions deep within Russia on Wednesday, including an airfield where they destroyed military transport planes, in one of the broadest volleys yet of Kyiv’s campaign to turn the tables on Moscow.
Russian officials described attacks on targets in the Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow regions. The Russian foreign ministry said the attacks would “not go unpunished” and could not have reached so far into Russian territory without Western help.
In Pskov, in northern Russia more than 600 km from Ukraine, a huge fire erupted at a military airfield. Tass news agency reported at least four giant Il-76 transport planes were damaged, two of which had “burst into flames”.
The attacks came as authorities in Kyiv reported at least two people killed in what they described as the heaviest Russian air strikes on the Ukrainian capital for months.
Reuters captured footage of a fireball that fell out of the night sky close to a supermarket, detonating in a huge explosion that bathed nearby residential tower blocks in light. In Russia, the governor of Pskov posted a video on Telegram showing a huge fire with the sounds of sirens and an explosion. Another video posted online showed anti-aircraft systems in action around the city, which is just 32 km east of Russia’s border with Nato member Estonia.
Moscow said it had thwarted all the attacks on Russia. Russia typically describes all Ukrainian drone strikes as unsuccessful, regardless of the damage on the ground.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was working out where the drones were launched from to prevent further strikes, and President Vladimir Putin had been informed immediately, as would be the case in any such “massive attacks”.
Kyiv confirmed the Russian planes had been destroyed in Pskov, without commenting on the nature of the incident. It generally withholds comment on strikes on territory inside Russia though it says it has a right to hit military targets.
“Yes, four IL-76 transport planes were destroyed in Pskov at an airfield, they are beyond repair. Also, several other of those (aircraft) are damaged, but the information is being checked,” Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s GUR military agency, told Reuters.
Ukraine’s western allies generally forbid Kyiv from using weapons they supply to attack Russia but say Kyiv has a right to carry out such strikes with its own weapons.
Russia said Ukrainian drones had tried to attack a TV tower over the Bryansk region. No casualties were reported. Moscow also said its aircraft had destroyed four Ukrainian fast-attack boats carrying up to 50 paratroopers on the Black Sea. Reuters could not independently confirm this.
Attacks on Russia, including repeated drone strikes on central Moscow, have brought the war home to many Russians for the first time, even as Ukrainians have spent the past year and a half in constant peril from air strikes.
Ukraine said its air defences had shot down 28 Russian missiles and 15 out of 16 drones fired overnight. Explosions rang out in Kyiv where authorities said debris killed at least two people.
