Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Drones struck on Russia’s border with Ukraine on Tuesday in a second day of attacks that exposed the vulnerability of some of Moscow’s most important military sites, experts said.
Ukrainian officials have not formally confirmed carrying out drone strikes inside Russia and have maintained ambiguity about previous high-profile strikes.
But Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Russia was likely to view attacks on Russian bases more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the border with Ukraine as “some of the most strategically significant force protection failures since its invasion of “Ukraine”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian authorities would “take the necessary measures” to improve protection of key facilities. Russian bloggers who generally maintain contact with their country’s military officials criticized the lack of defensive measures.
A fire broke out at an airport in Russia’s southern Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, after a drone struck the facility, the region’s governor said on Tuesday. In a second incident, an industrial plant 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the border with Ukraine was also targeted by the drones, which lost a fuel tank at the site, independent Russian media reported.
“They will have less aviation equipment after being damaged due to these mysterious explosions,” said Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “This is certainly excellent news because if one or two planes fail, in the future, some more planes may fail in some way. That reduces their capabilities.”
Moscow blamed Kyiv for unprecedented attacks on two air bases deep in Russia a day earlier. The attacks on the Engels base in the Saratov region on the Volga River and the Dyagilevo base in the Ryazan region of western Russia were some of the most daring inside Russia during the war.
As a result, Russian troops carried out another wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian territory that hit homes and buildings and killed civilians, adding to the damage done to power and other infrastructure during weeks of missile attacks.
About half of the homes in the Kyiv region remain without power, the regional governor said on Tuesday, while authorities in southern Odesa – which was hit hard on Monday – say they have managed to restore power to hospitals and some vital services.
In a further show of defiance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled close to the front line in eastern Donetsk region. On the occasion of the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he promised to expel Russian forces from the entire territory of Ukraine.
“Everyone sees your strength and skill. … I am grateful to your parents. They raised real heroes,” Zelenskyy said in a video address to Ukrainian forces from the city of Sloviansk, a key stronghold of Ukraine to the east.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference in Washington that the United States “neither encouraged nor allowed the Ukrainians to attack inside Russia.” But he said the US is determined, along with many other countries that support Kyiv, to make sure Ukrainians have “the equipment they need to defend themselves, to defend their territory, to defend their freedom “.
Russia’s Defense Ministry charged that the attack was launched using Soviet-made drones. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which split Russia and Ukraine into separate countries, Ukraine inherited some Soviet-designed Tu-141 Strizh drones, which entered service in the 1970s and have a range of 1,000 kilometers (over 600 miles).
They were designed for reconnaissance duties, but can be fitted with a warhead that effectively turns them into a cruise missile. Unlike modern drones, the Strizh or Swift, drones can only stay in the air for a limited time and fly directly to a designated target. Their outdated technology makes drones easily detectable by modern air defense systems and easy to shoot down.
A Russian pro-war blogger posting on the “Milinfolive” Telegram channel on Monday attacked the Russian military leadership, claiming that incompetence and a lack of adequate fortifications at air bases made the Ukrainian drone attacks possible.
Russia’s defense ministry said three Russian servicemen were killed and four others were injured by the debris, and two planes were slightly damaged in Monday’s attacks.
After Ukrainian forces took control of the main Russian-held city of Kherson in November, neither side has made significant progress.
But Ukrainian officials have indicated that the country plans to launch counteroffensives during the winter, when the frozen ground is conducive to moving heavy equipment. The city of Kherson is still being hit by Russian rocket attacks, but if Ukrainian forces establish firm control there, it could be a bridgehead for an advance into Crimea.
Pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov said Ukraine’s latest attacks “have raised questions about the security of Russian military air bases.”
The Engels base is home to Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers that have been involved in attacks in Ukraine. Dyagilevo hosts tanker aircraft used for aerial refueling.
In a daily intelligence update on the war in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the bombers would likely disperse to other airfields.
In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Peskov said that “the path of the Ukrainian regime to continue these terrorist attacks poses a threat.”
Peskov reiterated that Russia sees no prospects for peace talks now, adding that “the Russian Federation must achieve its stated goals.”
Ukrainian rocket attacks killed six people in the separatist city of Donetsk, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of where Zelenskiy was speaking, said Denis Pushilin, head of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic. He said one of those killed was a 29-year-old member of the DPR parliament.
Meanwhile, Russia continued heavy attacks on Ukrainian territory, shelling towns near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant overnight that left more than 9,000 homes without running water, local Ukrainian officials said.
The cities are across the Dnieper River from the nuclear power plant, which was seized by Russian forces in the early stages of the war. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other for months of bombing the plant and its surroundings.
The head of Sumy region in northern Ukraine, which borders Russia, said Moscow launched more than 80 missile and heavy artillery strikes on his territory. Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said the strikes damaged a monastery near the border town of Shalyhyne.
Ihnat, the spokesman for Ukraine’s air force, said the country’s ability to shoot down incoming missiles is improving, noting that there have been no recent reports of Iranian-made attack drones being used on Ukrainian territory .
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Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
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