ConflictsDrone strikes paralyze Russian airports, damage civilian areas

Drone strikes paralyze Russian airports, damage civilian areas

A drone crashed into the tallest building in Saratov.
A drone crashed into the tallest building in Saratov.
Images source: © X | ukrpravda_news
Mateusz Domański

6:59 AM EDT, August 26, 2024

The media in Kyiv reported on Monday morning that drones attacked airports in the cities of Saratov and Engels in Russia. A recording has already appeared online showing a drone striking a 38-story skyscraper.

The Saratov and Engels airports are known for strategic bombers launching missiles on Ukraine. Drone attacks occurred at these two locations, as reported by the media in Kyiv.

The portal Ukrainian Pravda also reported that on Monday morning, the Russians dispatched 11 Tu-95 strategic bombers. Four of them took off from Engels airport.

So far, there are no reports of damage within the base or the scale of the Ukrainian attack on the region, which is several hundred miles away from the Ukrainian border. Russian agencies, however, conveyed that air traffic was temporarily suspended in Saratov and the surrounding areas.

The authorities of the Saratov region report that it was due to "falling debris from downed Ukrainian drones that damaged several houses in the cities of Saratov and Engels."

Emergency services were dispatched to the scene. As a result of the attack, four people were injured, one of them seriously, wrote Governor Roman Busargin on Telegram.

Drone crashed into the skyscraper. Recording

In a recording posted on Telegram by the Russian news channel SHOT, a structure purported to be a residential skyscraper in Saratov is visible, with a damaged side wall and broken windows on three floors. The recording also shows the moment the drone crashed into the skyscraper.

Reuters reports that independent verification of these reports is not possible so far. The Ukrainian side has not commented on the Monday attack.

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