People living near the Engels strategic bomber military air base in Russia reportedly saw the air defense system working and heard explosions on the morning of Dec. 29, Russian media reported.
Saratov Oblast Governor Roman Busargin said that the air defense destroyed an “unknown object.” Russia actively uses the base in Engels, around 730 kilometers southeast of Moscow and hundreds of kilometers from Ukraine, to attack the country with bombers carrying cruise missiles.
Ukrainian authorities are yet to comment on the matter.
On Dec. 26, the base was hit by a Ukrainian drone which left three people killed, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence. Ukraine’s air defense spokesperson called it “the consequences of Russian aggression” against Ukraine.
Russian officials earlier blamed Ukraine for explosions at Engels Air Base and Dyagilyaevo airfield near Ryazan on Dec. 5 that killed three people and damaged two Tu-95 heavy bombers. Ukraine neither confirmed nor denied its responsibility for the incidents.
(Updated: )
