Ukrainian drone strikes military base in Russia
2022.12.26 06:50
Ukrainian drone strikes military base in Russia
Budrigannews.com – Ukraine claimed that the Russians had launched heavy artillery barrages on its cities within the past 24 hours, while Moscow claimed on Monday that its forces had shot down a Ukrainian drone close to a long-range bomber base deep within Russia.
Long-range strategic bombers that may have been used to target Ukrainian cities and infrastructure are based at Russia’s Engels air base, where the drone was allegedly flying.
In a statement, the Russian defense ministry said that three members of the air force had been killed in the incident, but that no planes had been damaged.
However, a number of planes had been destroyed, according to Russian and Ukrainian social media accounts. Those reports could not be independently verified by Reuters.
Putin said on Sunday that he was open to negotiations as the war entered its 11th month, and he blamed Ukraine and its Western allies for not engaging in talks.
However, his forces continued their relentless attacks, and early on Monday, the Ukrainian military reported that dozens of towns in the Zaporizhzia, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions had been shelled.
The Ukrainian military stated, “In the direction of Kherson, the enemy continues artillery shelling of populated areas along the right bank of the Dnipro River.”
It added that Ukrainian forces attacked nearly 20 Russian targets.
On Monday, the operator of Ukraine’s energy grid reported that there was still a significant lack of power, with emergency restrictions imposed on electricity consumption in five regions and the capital, Kyiv.
This was the second attack this month on the Engels air base, which is near the city of Saratov, about 730 kilometers (450 miles) southeast of Moscow, and hundreds of kilometers from the front lines in Ukraine.
On December 5, it was previously struck by what Russia claimed to be Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian air bases that day.
One of two strategic bomber bases houses Russia’s ability to deliver nuclear weapons by air. Kyiv, which has never publicly claimed responsibility for attacks within Russia, did not provide any comment.
“A Ukrainian automated elevated vehicle (drone) was taken shots down at low height while moving toward the Engels military runway in the Saratov locale,” the safeguard service explanation said.
It stated that debris from a falling drone killed three Russian soldiers.
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Russia has between 60 and 70 Tu-95MS Bear and Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bomber aircraft. In addition to conventional weapons, both can carry nuclear bombs and cruise missiles with nuclear weapons.
In attacks that Kyiv claims amount to war crimes, Moscow has used its air force to fire cruise missiles.
Roman Busargin, the regional governor of Saratov, stated on Monday that there was no threat to residents and that civilian infrastructure facilities had not been damaged in the most recent incident at the base.
Ukraine’s most powerful backer, the United States, has previously dismissed Putin’s declaration on Sunday that he is open to negotiations as posturing in light of the relentless Russian attacks.
In an interview with Rossiya 1 state television, Putin stated, “We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them – we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are.”
According to an advisor to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, Putin must acknowledge that Russia opposed talks.
Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser, stated on Twitter, “Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens.” Russia tries to avoid responsibility while refusing to participate in negotiations.
Millions of people in Ukraine are without power as a result of Russian attacks on power plants, and Zelenskiy told the nation in a speech that Moscow would try to make the last days of 2022 dark and difficult.
The Russian defense ministry said on Sunday that its forces had destroyed a lot of Ukrainian military equipment and killed about 60 Ukrainian soldiers the day before along the Kupiansk-Lyman line of contact.
Kyiv asserts that it will not rest until every Russian soldier is expelled from the country, while the Kremlin asserts that it will fight until all of its territorial goals are achieved.
