Updated Dec 5, 2022 – World
Satellite image of Russia’s Engels air base on Nov. 29. Photo: Planet Labs PBC
Explosions rocked two Russian air bases hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian border on Monday morning, Russian media reported.
Driving the news: Russia’s Defense Ministry on Monday said it shot down Ukrainian drones that had attacked military airfields in Russia’s Saratov and Ryazan regions, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.
Russian forces say they intercepted the drones, but the explosions killed three military technical personnel and injured four others, in addition to slightly damaging two aircraft.Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the explosions. Other explosions have occurred within Russian territory, though those were much closer to the Ukrainian border.State of play: The Engels air base houses strategic bombers that have previously been used to launch strikes on Ukraine and are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Ryazan air base is a hub for long-range flight tankers that can refuel bombers while in the air, per AP.The big picture: Russia launched a fresh wave of missile strikes across Ukraine on Monday, continuing attacks on critical infrastructure as the war stretches into winter.
“The enemy is again attacking the territory of Ukraine with missiles,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the president’s office, wrote in a Telegram post. Russian strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region killed two people and injured three others, Tymoshenko wrote on Telegram. Several private houses were destroyed, he added.The cities of Odesa, Cherkasy and Kryvyi Rih also reported explosions. In Odesa, a missile strike left the city without water after cutting the power supply to pumping stations, AP reported.”Unfortunately, there are already hits on energy infrastructure facilities and related emergency power outages,” Ukraine’s electric utility, Ukrenergo, wrote in a Facebook post Monday. Editor’s note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
