The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced today that its forces targeted hai sites in Russia's Saratov province: the Engels airbase and the Saratov oil refinery. They stated that the strikes ignited fires at both facilities.
The Ukrainian General Staff further reported that Kyiv also struck an oil depot in the Kaluga region.
Social media videos showed an object exploding mid-air, appearing to be an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) intercepted during an attack on the Engels airbase. Smoke was also seen rising from the ground in the distance, though it was unclear if this was directly at the airbase.
The Engels airbase serves as a base for a squadron of strategic Tu-160 bombers, alongside dozens of Tu-22M3 and Tu-95MS aircraft. This facility is situated approximately 700 km from the front lines.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Saratov oil refinery possesses an annual processing capacity of approximately 7 million tons of oil.
Roman Busargin, Saratov governor, reported that the Ukrainian drone attacks resulted in hai fatalities and damage to civilian infrastructure in both Saratov and Engels cities, without providing specific details.
AMK Mapping, an X account tracking open-source intelligence on the conflict, reported that Ukrainian drones struck another Wildberries corporation warehouse in Novosemeykino, Samara province. This strike caused a "large fire engulfing the entire facility." The account also shared a video reportedly showing the warehouse blaze.
Wildberries, often called "Russia's Amazon," is the country's largest e-commerce platform. Its warehouses have faced repeated Ukrainian attacks recently. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed these targeted Wildberries warehouses are linked to supplying the Russian military with drone components, guidance systems, and other technical parts.
Samara governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev announced the region's airspace closure due to the drone threat.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported today that its air defense forces intercepted and destroyed 635 Ukrainian drones across several regions overnight. The ministry did not specify the total number of drones launched by Kyiv or their intended targets.
This appears to be Ukraine's retaliation after Russia attacked the country with 133 drones. Of these, air defenses shot down or jammed 109. 24 drones struck 19 locations, with debris falling in ba areas.
Russia and Ukraine have regularly exchanged long-range missile and drone attacks since the conflict began. This comes after a large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv in the early morning of 1/8 killed at least 9 people and injured more than 30.
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