(Updated: )
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russia's Engels-2 air base in Saratov Oblast was successfully hit by Ukrainian drones overnight on March 20, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed for the Kyiv Independent.
The statement comes after Governor Roman Busargin reported the heaviest drone strike against Saratov Oblast throughout the entire full-scale war.
A fire, explosions, and secondary detonations of ammunition were recorded at the air base following the attack carried out by the SBU and the Special Operations Forces, the source said.
The Engels-2 military air base hosts strategic bomber planes regularly used for aerial strikes on Ukraine. The independent news channel Astra reported explosions near the air base. According to Busargin, residents living near the airfield are being evacuated.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces also reported on the attack.
"This military facility is used by Russian aviation to launch missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine and terrorist attacks against the civilian population," the statement read.
Multiple missiles, including Kh-101 cruise missiles, have been destroyed in the attack, said Andrii Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
Residents reported an air raid alert followed by a series of explosions in Saratov and Engels, according to Russian Telegram channels. At least four blasts could be heard at around 4 a.m. local time, according to Mash.
Russian air defenses were "ineffective" and launched missiles toward civilian buildings and infrastructure in Engels and Saratov, according to the SBU source.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
The Shot Telegram channel wrote that a fire also erupted in the area of a local oil depot in Engels. Russian officials have not commented on possible damage to oil infrastructure.
Two civilians were injured in Engels, authorities said. Around 30 houses were impacted in the city, and windows of a local hospital, two kindergartens, and a school were damaged, Busargin claimed.
A state of emergency was announced in the Engels district in response to the drone attack, and temporary flight restrictions were imposed at the Saratov and Samara airports.
Saratov and Engels lie across from each other on the western and eastern banks of the Volga River, respectively.
Russian air defenses shot down 132 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 54 over Saratov Oblast, 40 over Voronezxh Oblast, 22 over Belgorod Oblast, and others over the Rostov, Kursk, and Lipetsk oblasts, as well as over occupied Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed.
Engels air base
Located in the Saratov Oblast, over 450 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, Engels air base – also known as Engels-2 – is home to the 184th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment and 121st Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment.
It was built in 1952 and has been in service since 1954.
Engels is home to three types of Russian strategic bombers – the Tupolev Tu-95, the Tupolev Tu-22, and the Tupolev Tu-160, all regularly used to launch missiles at Ukrainian cities.
The Tu-95 is the older of the three aircraft, a Soviet-era plane that made its first flight in 1952. It was originally used to carry nuclear bombs but has since evolved to launch cruise missiles.
Each aircraft can carry 16 cruise missiles – either the Kh-55/Kh-555 or the newer Kh-101 and Kh-102 air-launched cruise missiles.
It features turboprop propellers rather than jet engines, as during the Cold War, their increased efficiency allowed it to fly all the way to the United States without refueling.
The Tu-22 carries the Kh-22 missiles, which pose a particular problem for Ukraine. It is supersonic and travels at around 4,000 kilometers per hour. Currently, it can only be shot down with the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system and potentially the SAMP-T, a joint Italian-French system.
The Tu-160 is Russia's more modern strategic bomber, entering service in 1987. To this day, it remains the largest operational bomber in the world.
It can carry a total of 12 Kh-55 missiles and up to 24 Kh-15s.
Successful Ukrainian strikes
Engels has been targeted a number of times since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the first of which occurred on Dec. 5, 2022, when a Ukrainian drone strike reportedly damaged two Tu-95s.
At the time, the British Ministry of Defense said it was "some of the most strategically significant failures of force protection since (Russia's) invasion of Ukraine."
Drones attempted to strike the base two more times that month but did not cause significant damage, though Russia did appear to move some of its aircraft to other bases in response to the threat.
Before the latest attack, Engels was most recently targeted in January when a drone attack set fire to an ammunition depot on the airfield's territory.
Dmytro Basmat
