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Editor's note: This article has been updated with new information from a source in Ukrainian intelligence.
A drone strike against a military airbase in Russia's Lipetsk Oblast on Aug. 9 set off a chain explosion that detonated more than 700 bombs, a Ukrainian intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.
Earlier, Russian authorities said that a fire broke out at a military airfield, and an energy facility was damaged in a drone attack in the oblast. The source told the Kyiv Independent that there were fighter jets and helicopters stored at the airbase. It is unknown how many were damaged or destroyed in the attack.
The source said the attack was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in collaboration with the Ukrainian army and the Special Operation Forces. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed the attack on the airfield but said that the damage was still being clarified.
Ukrainian forces have previously launched drone attacks at military and industrial targets in Lipetsk Oblast, which is located some 450 kilometers (279 miles) from the Ukrainian border. It is northeast of Kursk Oblast, where fighting is currently ongoing after an unprecedented Ukrainian cross-border incursion that began on Aug. 6.
Six people were injured in the attack, Lipetsk Oblast Governor Igor Artamanov said, adding that they had been taken to the hospital.
Videos shared on Russian Telegram channels showed a massive explosion in the distance, although it was unclear what was directly impacted by it or where it was located.
The intelligence source said that the explosion occurred at the Lipetsk-2 military airfield, located just outside the city of Lipetsk, which has a population of around 500,000.
The local department of the Emergency Situations Ministry said that a state of emergency had been introduced, and residents of four towns had been ordered to evacuate.
Temporary shelters were being prepared, the ministry added.
Russia's Defense Ministry said that 75 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted overnight over six different oblasts, as well as occupied Crimea. The ministry also claimed that seven naval drones in the Black Sea had been intercepted.
Separately, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of neighboring Belgorod Oblast, said that four drones had struck an apartment building in the border town of Shebekino.
Gladkov claimed that no one was injured in the attack.
The claims cannot be independently verified, and Kyiv has not commented on the attacks at the time of this publication.
Elsa Court
