Russian military airfield reportedly targeted in mass drone attack
Russian air defenses intercepted 158 Ukrainian drones across occupied Crimea and several Russian regions overnight on April 9, including as far south as North Ossetia, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed.
Independent Telegram channel Astra reported that drones targeted the military airfield in Mozdok, from where MiG-31K carriers of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles are deployed.
Social media posts showed images of smoke rising near the area. Astra said it geolocated one image to a site roughly 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the air base.
Russian authorities did not acknowledge any strike on the Mozdok airfield itself. Regional head Sergey Menyaylo said air defenses "repelled" the attack in the Mozdok district.
Menyaylo claimed there were no casualties or visible damage but confirmed that a drone attack alert had been implemented.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify all the claims. The Ukrainian military has yet to comment on the attacks.
Explosions were also reported in Taganrog in Rostov Oblast, Tikhoretsk, Sloviansk-on-Kuban, Krymsk, Saratov, and Engels, according to the Russian media and local authorities.
The airports of Vladikavkaz and Grozny, the capitals of Russia's republics of North Ossetia and Chechnya, were reportedly closed because of the attack.
North Ossetia is located roughly 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine's border. It borders Georgia to the south and lies along the Caucasus Mountains.
Kyiv has regularly used long-range drones to target Russian military and industrial infrastructure deep behind the front lines. On March 20, the Ukrainian military confirmed that a successful drone strike had hit the Engels-2 airbase in Saratov Oblast.
Abbey Fenbert
