According to Russia, Ukraine launched overnight raids with several drones on Russian territory, reaching as far as Pskov, near the border with Estonia, where aircraft were shot down, some 830 kilometers from the Ukrainian capital.
“A drone attack was repelled at Pskov airport, thank God, there are no casualties,” regional governor Mikhail Vechernikov said via Telegram, who earlier said Russia’s air defenses were “repelling” an attack, accompanying the post with a video in which one could see a large fire and hear sirens screaming.
“The level of the disasters is in the process of assessment. All services are on foot,” according to the Pskov regional governor.
Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing emergency services, that four Ilyushin Il-76 heavy transport aircraft were damaged. The RIA agency, for its part, reported that two of the transporters caught fire, citing information from the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The airport was temporarily closed
All flights at Pskov airport have been suspended for today pending an assessment of potential damage to the runway, Vechernikov clarified.
“According to the first information, nothing serious, but at night it is difficult to verify this. If everything is in order, the airport will resume normal operations (tomorrow) Thursday,” the governor added.
The Russian military announced on August 19 that it had foiled a Ukrainian drone attack on a military airfield in the Novgorod region, also a long way from the Ukraine-Russia border.
Daily raids
In other areas of Ukrainian territory, several more Ukrainian drones were destroyedaccording to Moscow, among them some flying to the outskirts of the capital.
One was destroyed in the Russky district of the Moscow region, according to the defense ministry. The attack caused no casualties or damage, according to the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sabianin.
In the regions of Kaluga and Ryazan, which are adjacent to that of Moscow, respectively one and two UAVs were shot down, according to the Ministry of Defense.
For one more night, air traffic was suspended at Damaditava, Vnukova and Sheremetyava international airports in Moscow, according to TASS, which later reported that the airspace had been opened.
Also, Russian authorities announced that three remote-controlled drones were shot down in Bryansk, which neighbors Ukraine. There were no casualties, regional governor Alexandre Bogamas said, speaking via Telegram.
In the Ariol region (west), the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that it shot down one drone, while the regional governor spoke of two.
Ukrainian drone raids on Russian territory, which have multiplied in recent months and now they are practically daily, they mainly target Moscow, 500 kilometers from the border of the two countries, and the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, against the background of the counteroffensive by the Ukrainian army that began in early June.
Yesterday, Tuesday, the Russian authorities announced that they had prevented such attacks in the Tula and Belgorod regions (west).
At the end of July, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his satisfaction because the war is now “reaching the territory of Russia”.
The article Russia reported major attack by Ukrainian drones – Airports closed was published in Fourals.com.
