CNN gains access to secret military drone workshop in Ukraine 3:04
(CNN) --
The explosions at two Russian airbases on Monday focused attention on Ukraine's efforts to develop longer-range combat drones.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes were carried out by Ukrainian drones, which it claims were shot down by Russian air defences.
Images, both satellite and photographic, indicate that some damage was done to Russian military aircraft at a base in the Ryazan region.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry has not offered any official comment on the explosions, and the Ukrainian government has not acknowledged adding long-range attack drones to its arsenal.
However, state arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom has indicated several times in recent weeks that it is close to finishing work on a new long-range drone.
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In October this year, Ukroboronprom posted on Facebook, along with a picture of what appeared to be part of the drone's structure: “Range is 1,000 km, combat unit weight is 75 kg.
Putting the finishing touches."
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A month later, on November 24, Ukroboronprom made another publication: "The next stage of UAV tests: on behalf of the chief of the General Staff, we are preparing for flight tests under the action of electronic warfare."
“The weather, on the one hand, becomes a problem, and on the other hand, it is an additional test for the complex.
A kind of crash test."
One photo showed the words “az vozdam” inscribed on what was supposed to be the drone, meaning “I will pay”.
And on Saturday, the Ukrinform news agency reported that company spokeswoman Natalia Sad told Ukrainian television that "several stages of successful testing have been completed."
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“In accordance with the instructions of the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, we are moving to the stage of tests involving an electronic warfare jamming environment,” it added.
However, there is no public indication that the drone in question was ready for deployment or was involved in the explosions inside Russia early Monday.
Attacks on Russian bases
The two attacked bases, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, are hundreds of kilometers inside Russian territory and out of range of Ukraine's declared drone arsenal.
No pictures or images of the drone wreckage have been released.
In the western Russian town of Engels, more than 800 kilometers southeast of Moscow, security camera footage appeared to show an explosion lighting up the sky around 6 a.m. local time Monday morning.
The port city home to Engels-2 airfield, a strategic bomber airbase, was approximately 6 kilometers from where the CCTV footage was recorded.
Saratov Region Governor Roman Busargin assured residents on Telegram that no civilian infrastructure was damaged, but said that "information about incidents at military installations are being reviewed by law enforcement agencies."
He acknowledged information about "a loud crash and explosion in Engels at dawn" that was disseminated on social networks and the media.
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