Russia says Ukraine attacked two military bases on Russian soil

Images captured on closed-circuit television in the Russian city of Engels, where a Russian air base is located, and geolocated by CNN showed the explosion lighting up the sky around 6 a.m. Monday.

Engels is a port city on the Volga River, about 800 kilometers southeast of Moscow, in the Saratov Region of western Russia. Shared video surveillance images circulated on social networks showed the strategic bomber base Engels-2 being recorded about 6 kilometers away from the airfield.

Saratov regional governor Roman Busargin assured residents in a telegram that no civilian infrastructure had been damaged, but said “information about incidents at military installations is being verified by law enforcement.”

He acknowledged that information about “a loud thunder and explosion in Engels early in the morning” was circulating on social media and in the media.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the incident and another explosion at a Russian airfield near the city of Ryazan, about 200 kilometers southeast of Moscow, during a routine call with reporters on Monday.

“I don’t have exact information, I only saw media reports, but I don’t have exact details, I can’t comment. I recommend contacting the Defense Ministry,” Peskov said. He said President Vladimir Putin had been informed “of course”.

CNN has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukraine used drones to attack two Russian military airfields on Monday morning.

In a report collected by the official Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the ministry said the attacks took place “in the Saratov (where Engels is located) and Ryazan regions” but were intercepted by air defenses.

Three people were killed and six others injured when a fuel truck exploded at a Russian airport near the city of Ryazan, Russian state media reported. Emergency services told state news agency TASS on Monday that the explosion occurred in the airport’s parking lot.

Pro-Russian bloggers said the incidents could be sabotage by Ukraine.

Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, shared a social media report of an “explosion at Engels Airport” on Facebook, but did not claim responsibility. “Who did that?” He wrote.

Later, on national television, Ihnat referred to the explosions while announcing the launch of a new Russian missile strike on Ukraine: “Today we have information that there were explosions at Engels Airfield. There was a commotion at this airfield.”

“Maybe this is unrelated, but we’re seeing strategic bombers take off and the first wave of missiles already launched. Maybe more. [oleadas]They could use several attack waves to scatter missiles across Ukraine and disrupt our air defense operations.”