Drones struck airfields deep inside Russian territory early in the week. Russia blamed the attacks on Ukraine; Ukraine did not claim responsibility. If carried out by Ukraine, the explosions happened much deeper inside Russia than ever before in the war – as far as 370 miles from Ukraine-controlled territory.
The two military airfields struck by drones Monday were the Engels base in the Saratov region and the Dyagilevo base in Ryazan, a city less than 150 miles from Moscow.
Engels houses more than 30 heavy bombers that have been used to launch cruise missiles at Ukraine, according to Britain’s defense ministry. Two heavy bombers were reportedly damaged.
At the Dyagilevo base, three people were killed and five wounded after a fuel truck exploded, according to Russia's defense ministry.
A drone attack on Tuesday set an oil storage tank on fire at an airfield in Kursk, according to the Russian region’s governor.
“We have neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of Russia,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference. He added that the U.S. is determined to make sure that the Ukrainians have “the equipment that they need to defend themselves, to defend their territory, to defend their freedom.”
Russian media reported Ukraine may have used a Soviet-developed Tu-141 Strizh reconnaissance drone with a range of more than 600 miles. The drones were designed for reconnaissance but can be fitted with a warhead.
After the attacks, Russian troops carried out another wave of missile strikes on Ukraine, killing four civilians and plunging some parts of the country into a blackout, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.