Russia accuses Ukraine of drone attack on airport, damaging planes
Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of carrying out a major drone attack in Russia, marking the largest such strike since Moscow deployed forces into Ukraine 18 months ago, The Guardian reported. The strike reportedly hit an airport in the Pskov region, triggering a large-scale fire and damaging four Il-78 transport aircraft. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting and shooting down drones over several other regions, including Oryol, Bryansk, Ryazan, Kaluga, and Moscow.
Why does this story matter?
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 over territorial disputes and to prevent the latter from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). As the Russia-Ukraine crisis deepens, Ukraine has been successful in launching a counter-offensive against Russian forces with defense support, including military drones from the West and NATO countries. In May, Russia accused Ukraine of attempting an overnight drone strike on the Kremlin to assassinate President Vladimir Putin.
No casualty reported, flights canceled at Pskov airport
Following the attack, Pskov regional Governor Mikhail Vedernikov canceled all flights to and from the airport for a day to assess the damage, Al Jazeera reported. Fortunately, no casualties were reported in the attack, and firefighters successfully contained the blaze at the Pskov airport. Previously, the Pskov region reported drone attacks in late May, when two armed drones struck an oil pipeline's administrative building, damaging it.
Shot down drones over other regions: Russian military
According to the Russian military, drones were successfully intercepted over the Bryansk region, while two drones were downed in the Oryol region and one each in the Ryazan, Kaluga, and Moscow regions. Notably, Pskov looked to be the only region where the drone attack caused damage. Soon after the Wednesday drone strike, footage of smoke and a major fire rising from the city of Pskov went viral on social media.
Watch: Aftermath video of drone strike in Pskov
Russian defense ministry claims counter-attack on Ukrainian military boats
Separately, Russia's defense ministry claimed to have destroyed Ukrainian military boats in the Black Sea. It stated an aircraft "destroyed four high-speed military boats" in the Black Sea at about midnight (local time). The boats were transporting landing groups of Ukrainian special operations forces with a total number of up to 50 paratroops, according to the government. However, it did not provide any other information regarding the alleged occurrence.
