A third Russian airfield was set on fire on Tuesday by a drone strike, a day after Ukraine demonstrated an apparent new ability to penetrate hundreds of kilometers into Russian airspace with attacks on two Russian air bases.
Authorities in the Russian city of Kursk, located near Ukraine, released photos of black smoke over an airfield in the early hours of Tuesday morning after the latest attack. An official said an oil storage tank was set on fire but there were no casualties.
That came a day after Russia confirmed it had been hit by what it said were Soviet-era drones – at Engels air base, home to Russia’s fleet of giant strategic bombers, and in Ryazan, just a few hours’ drive from Moscow.
Kiev did not directly claim responsibility for the attacks but celebrated them.
“If Russia assesses that the incidents were deliberate attacks, it will likely regard them as some of the biggest strategically significant failures of force protection since the invasion of Ukraine,” the UK Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.
“The Russian chain of command will likely attempt to identify and impose severe sanctions on Russian officials deemed responsible for enabling the incident.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said three servicemen were killed in the attack in Ryazan. While the strikes hit military targets, they characterized them as terrorism and said the aim was to disable their long-range aircraft.
The New York Times, citing a senior Ukrainian official, said the drones involved in Monday’s attacks were launched from Ukrainian territory, and at least one of the attacks was carried out with the help of special forces close to the base.
Ukraine never acknowledges responsibility for attacks inside Russia. Asked about the attacks, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleskiy Reznikov repeated an old joke that the explosions at Russian bases were caused by careless smokers.
“Russians often smoke in places where smoking is prohibited,” he said.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych went further, noting that Engels was the only fully equipped Russian base for the giant bombers that Russia has used in attacks on Ukraine.
“They will try to disperse (strategic aircraft) to airfields, but all this complicates the operation against Ukraine. Yesterday, thanks to their unsuccessful smoking, we achieved a very big result, ”he said.
Russian experts said on social media that if Ukraine can strike this far inside Russia, it can also hit Moscow.
“The ability of Ukraine’s armed forces to hit military targets deep within the territory of the Russian Federation has a very symbolic and important meaning,” wrote Ukrainian military analyst Serhiy Zgurets on the Espreso TV website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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