A Russian soldier watches a bomber take off from Engels airbase on this file photo from 2008. Engels is home to strategic bombers that Russia uses to launch missiles into Ukrainian cities.
Wojtek Laski | Hulton Archive | Getty Images
Three Russian military personnel were killed early on Monday by falling wreckage of a Ukrainian drone that was shot down because it was attacking a base in Russia’s Saratov region, Russian news agencies reported, citing the defense ministry.
It was the second attack on the bottom this month.
“A Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield within the Saratov region,” news agencies reported the Russian ministry as saying.
“In consequence of the autumn of the wreckage of the drone, three Russian servicemen of the technical staff who were on the airfield were fatally wounded.”
The bottom, near town of Saratov, about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow and a whole lot of kilometres from the front lines in Ukraine, was hit on Dec. 5 in what Russia said was Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian air bases that day.
The dual strikes dealt Russia a significant reputational blow and raised questions on why its defenses failed, analysts said, as attention turned to the usage of drones within the war between neighbors.
Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility for attacks in Russia, but has said, nonetheless, that such incidents are “karma” for Russia’s invasion.
The Russian defense ministry said that aviation equipment was not damaged but in response to unofficial Russian and Ukrainian social media reports quite a few planes was destroyed.
Reuters was not in a position to independently confirm the reports.
Earlier on Monday, Roman Busargin, the governor of the Saratov region, said that civil infrastructure facilities weren’t damaged within the incident.
“There is completely no threat to residents … Civil infrastructure facilities weren’t damaged,” Busargin said.