Two Russian airbases in the center of the country were targeted by Ukrainian drones on Monday, killing three.
In any case, this is what the Russian Defense Ministry said: Monday morning, "the kyiv regime (...) attempted to carry out strikes with Soviet-designed drones on the Diaguilevo air base in the Ryazan region and that of Enguels in the Saratov region", at least 500 km from the Ukrainian border.
The ministry accuses the Ukrainian forces of seeking "to decommission the long-range Russian planes", used for the strikes which have targeted numerous energy infrastructures on Ukrainian territory in recent weeks.
If these “jet drones” were intercepted by Russian air defense systems, their debris fell on the territory of the air bases attacked, causing explosions and “slightly” damaging two planes, according to the press release.
According to different sources, it could be 2 Russian Tu-95 bombers, a type of aircraft that regularly bombs Ukraine.
Three Russian soldiers "were mortally wounded" in these attacks and four others were hospitalized, according to the ministry, same source.
Despite these attacks, "a massive strike carried out with high-precision weapons" at around 1 p.m. targeted Ukrainian military sites and energy infrastructure linked to Ukrainian forces, the statement said, adding that a total of 17 targets were hit.
kyiv has so far claimed no responsibility for any of the explosions
Several Russian media reported during the day, citing local officials in particular, that two airbases in central Russia, one of which is used for strategic aviation and is used to carry out strikes against Ukraine, were shaken on Monday by explosions.
Speculation on Russian social media immediately suggested that Ukraine could be behind these explosions, even though the two sites are located hundreds of kilometers from the border.
The Ukrainian company Ukroboronprom had announced on Facebook that it was preparing a weapon with a range of a thousand kilometers capable of carrying an explosive charge of 75 kilos.
But that's just a guess.
Vladimir Putin was informed of these incidents, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier in the day.
"The president regularly receives information, from the appropriate services, on everything that is happening," he told the press, without further details.
kyiv has so far claimed no responsibility for any of the explosions.
