At least three people were killed early Monday morning in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian Engels air base in the Saratov region of southern Russia.
Russian authorities have reported that air defenses shot down a drone approaching the airbase. However, debris from the aircraft has killed three soldiers.
«On December 26, at around 01:35 Moscow time, a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region,» the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by the TASS news agency.
«As a result of the falling wreckage of the drone, three Russian servicemen from the technical staff who were at the airfield were fatally injured. The aviation equipment was not damaged,» the ministerial portfolio has added.
The governor of Saratov, Roman Busargin, confirmed the information on his official Telegram channel, where he informed that the families of the dead servicemen will be able to receive «all necessary assistance».
Later, the spokesman of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuri Ignat, said that the casualties suffered by Russia on Monday are «consequences» of its aggression, launched more than ten months ago, Ukrinform reported.
«These are the consequences of what Russia is doing on our land. If the Russians thought that the war would not affect them in the deep rear, then they were wrong,» the military representative said.
Ignat acknowledged that such operations «are happening more and more often,» and expressed hope that this will only have positive connotations for Ukrainian interests.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
