By E. Eduardo Castillo and Hanna Arhirova —
The Associated Press
The Russian military reported Monday that it shot down a Ukrainian drone that was approaching an airbase deep in Russian territory.
It marks the second time the airbase has been attacked this month, raising questions about the effectiveness of Russian air defenses if drones can get that far into the country.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the incident took place in the early hours of Monday and that
three servicemen were killed
by debris at the Engels airbase which is home to the Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers involved in the attack. launching attacks against Ukraine.
Engels is in Russia's Saratov region, on the Volga River, more than 370 miles (600 kilometers) east of the Ukrainian border.
There was no damage to Russian aircraft, the ministry said.
A Ukrainian soldier watches a drone signal from an underground command center in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, December 25, 2022. Libkos / AP
Speaking to Ukrainian television on Monday, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat did not directly acknowledge his country's involvement in Monday's incident, but said "these are the consequences of Russian aggression."
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“If the Russians thought that the war would not affect them in the deep rear, they were deeply mistaken
,” he added.
The Ukrainian authorities have never confirmed the shipment of drones to Russia.
They have remained ambiguous about previous high-profile attacks, including drone strikes on Russian military bases earlier this month.
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On December 5, unprecedented drone strikes on Engels and the Dyagilevo base in the Ryazan region of western Russia killed three servicemen and injured four more.
The strikes on the airbases were followed by a massive retaliatory missile launch into Ukraine that hit homes and buildings and killed civilians.
In Ukraine, at least four civilians have been injured in Russian strikes against five regions in the country's southeast over the past 24 hours, according to the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
In general, the intensity of the attacks from Sunday night to Monday has been significantly lower.
In the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region, fierce battles continue around the town of Bakhmut, which Russian forces have been trying to capture for weeks to consolidate their hold on eastern Ukraine.
In the neighboring Luhansk region, which is almost entirely under Moscow's control,
Russian forces "suffer huge losses
and medical facilities are overwhelmed with wounded soldiers," Ukrainian Governor Serhiy Haidai told Ukrainian television on Thursday. Monday.
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He also claimed that Russian forces withdrew from the military command in the city of Kreminna as Ukrainian forces closed in after months of heavy fighting.
Russian forces moved into Kreminna and several other areas in September after they withdrew from the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine.
On Saturday, a deadly attack in the city of Kherson, which was retaken by Ukrainian forces last month, killed and wounded dozens of people.
Residents are lining up to donate blood for the injured, Yaroslav Yanushevich, the city's governor, said Monday.