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As Russia tries to arm its embattled troops, recent media reports suggest that its long-range air force is also to be re-equipped with new wing-borne hypersonic missiles.
Interfax news agency quoted the force’s commander, Sergei Kobylash, in an interview with the Russian defense ministry’s newspaper on Monday as saying:
In the interest of long-range aviation, the development and supply of the entire range of aviation weapons, including new hypersonic cruise missiles, is underway.”
Russia’s long-range bomber fleet is part of its nuclear triad and is capable of launching both nuclear and conventional missiles.
The Russian-supplied weapons were deployed in Belarus, officials said
Russian-supplied Iskander tactical missile systems, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and S-400 air defense systems have been deployed in Belarus and are ready to carry out their intended tasks, a senior Russian official said. Belarusian Ministry of Defense.
Leonid Kasinsky, head of the ministry’s main ideology directorate, said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday:
Our servicemen, aircrews have fully completed their training at the joint combat training centers of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus…
This kind of weapons [Iskander and S-400 systems] are on combat duty today and are fully prepared to perform the tasks for their purpose.”
It is unclear how many of the Iskander systems have been deployed to Belarus, but this follows Putin’s visit to Minsk on December 19 amid concerns in Ukraine that he would pressure Belarus to join a new ground offensive and open a new front .
Russian forces used Belarus as a launching pad for their botched attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in February, and there has been an increasing flurry of Russian and Belarusian military activity in recent months.
The Iskander-M, a mobile guided missile system, has a range of up to 500 km (300 miles) and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.
Russian air base hit by drone attack, 3 dead
Three Russian servicemen were killed early Monday when a Ukrainian drone attacked a base in Russia’s Saratov region, Russian news agencies reported, citing the defense ministry.
Russian state media agency Tass quotes the defense ministry as saying:
On December 26, at around 01:35 Moscow time (2235 GMT), a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region.
As a result of the fall of the drone debris, three Russian technical soldiers who were at the airfield were mortally wounded.”
There are reports of air raid sirens and explosions being heard at Engel Air Force Base in the Saratov Region of Russia, this air base is a major bomber base and is the main base of operations of the Tupolev Tu-160 “Blackjack” heavy strategic bomber. pic.twitter.com/XciJuje56u
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 26, 2022
The Guardian has not verified whether the drone was shot down, rather than hitting its target as intended.
Earlier reports said explosions were heard at Russia’s Engels Air Base hundreds of kilometers from the front lines in Ukraine. The RBC-Ukraine news agency reported that there were two explosions.
The airbase, near the city of Saratov, is about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow and more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Ukraine. It was also affected earlier this month.
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to The Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news as it unfolds over the next few hours.
Russian news agencies are reporting that three Russian servicemen were killed early Monday by a Ukrainian drone.
Citing the defense ministry, they reported that the drone had been shot down while attacking a base in Russia’s Saratov region. The Guardian has not verified whether the drone was shot down, rather than hitting its target as intended.
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Explosions were heard at Russia’s Engels Air Base hundreds of kilometers from the front lines in Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian media reported early Monday. The RBC-Ukraine news agency reported that there were two explosions. Russian news daily Baza, citing local residents, said air raid sirens were wailing and an explosion was heard. The Guardian could not immediately verify the reports. The air base, near the city of Saratov, is about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow.
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Vladimir Putin has said the West is trying to “tear apart” Russia and claimed its offensive in Ukraine is aimed at “uniting the Russian people”. In an interview broadcast on national television, Putin said that Russia’s “geopolitical opponents”. [were] with the aim of destroying Russia, historical Russia… Divide and conquer, that is what they have always tried to achieve and are still trying to do,” Putin added. “But our goal is different: it is to unite the Russian people” .
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Putin said Russia was ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war in Ukraine, while accusing Kyiv and its Western allies of “refusal” to negotiate. Kyiv and its allies suspect Putin’s claims are a ploy to buy time after a series of Russian defeats and retreats on the battlefield.
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Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Putin “needs to come back to reality” after the Russian leader claimed Moscow was ready for negotiations. It is “obvious” that Russia “does not want negotiations, but is trying to avoid responsibility,” Podolyak tweeted.
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Air raid alerts sounded in Kyiv and most of Ukraine on Sunday. Officials gave the all clear and there were no immediate reports of Russian attacks. Unconfirmed reports on Ukrainian social media suggested that sirens may have been activated after Russian jets took to the skies over Belarus.
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Ukraine’s Kherson governor has issued a call for blood donors after 16 people were killed in a Russian airstrike in the southern region on Saturday. Yaroslav Yanushevych said Russian forces “opened fire on the Kherson region 71 times” with artillery, multiple launch rocket systems and mortars. Iuliia Mendel, a former Ukrainian presidential spokeswoman, shared photos of people waiting to donate blood in Kherson.
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Three Ukrainian emergency workers were killed when a mine exploded while demining parts of the Kherson region. “All three served selflessly … and performed the task of demining territories liberated from the enemy in the Kherson region,” Zhytomyr’s emergency service said on its Facebook page.
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The pace of Russian forces’ advance in the Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine has likely slowed in recent days, analysts say. In its latest update, the US think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) quoted a Russian military blogger as saying that Ukrainian forces had pushed back elements of the private mercenary company Russian company, the Wagner group, in the positions they occupied a few days ago.
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President Volodymyr Zelenskiy used his latest video address to say Ukrainians would create their own Christmas miracle by remaining without bows, despite Russian attacks that have left millions without power. Speaking 10 months to the day since Russia invaded, Zelenskiy said that while freedom came at a high price, slavery would cost more.
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According to reports, Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to Europe through the Yamal-Europe pipeline. “The European market remains relevant as gas shortages persist, and we have every opportunity to resume supplies,” Russian state media Tass said on Sunday, citing Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
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Russia’s parliament is preparing to introduce a higher tax rate for people who have left the country, as many have done since the war in Ukraine began. Some local media reported that up to 700,000 fled after the announcement of a mobilization campaign to summon new troops to join the fight in September. The government rejected that figure at the time.
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China’s foreign minister has defended his country’s stance on the Ukraine war and indicated Beijing will deepen ties with Moscow next year. China will “deepen strategic mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation” with Russia, Wang Yi said in a video address.
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Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Pope Francis used their Christmas addresses to call for an end to the war in Ukraine. Condemning the use of food as a weapon of war, the pope said the war in Ukraine and conflict in other countries had put millions at risk of starvation.
Ludmila crosses a destroyed bridge amid artillery shelling on December 24 in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Photograph: Pierre Crom/Getty Images