Russia has shot down a Ukrainian drone near one of its long-range bomber airbases inside its territory. Three members of the Russian Air Force were killed in the crash. The news was reported by the Reuters agency.
The drone was flying near Russia's Engels Air Base, home to long-range strategic bombers that may have been used to target Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. No aircraft were damaged in the crash, the defense ministry said in a statement released by Russian news agencies.
"A Ukrainian unmanned aircraft was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region“, reads the statement from the defense ministry. “Three Russian servicemen from the technical staff who were at the airport were fatally injured as the wreckage of the drones fell".
However, the tam tam on social networks report that some planes would have been destroyed.
The air base targeted by the attack is located near the city of Saratov, about 730 km southeast of Moscow and hundreds of kilometers from the front lines in Ukraine.
Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks inside Russia, but often refers to them as "karma" after the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.
Moscow's strategic bombers
Russia has a fleet of about 70 strategic bombers consisting of the Tu-95MS Bear and Tu-160 Blackjack. Both are capable of carrying nuclear bombs and nuclear-armed cruise missiles, as well as conventional munitions.
Moscow has used its air force to launch cruise missiles in what it calls its "special military operation” to degrade the military potential of Ukraine. Kiev said such attacks amounted to war crimes and compared Russia to a terrorist state.
The December 5 attack against the same base, together with another attack on the same day on another base, raised many questions about the effectiveness of Russian air defenses.
If Ukraine manages to strike that far inside Russia, it might even be able to strike Moscow, some social media accounts (Telegram) commented.