30 Aug: HUGE SUCCESS. Ukrainians CONDUCT Largest Drone Strike on Russia From Range of 660 km

30 Aug: HUGE SUCCESS. Ukrainians CONDUCT Largest Drone Strike on Russia From Range of 660 km Ukraine has stepped up its drone warfare in recent months, often striking targets deep inside Russian territory to support its ground offensive, which has met stiff resistance on the southern and eastern fronts. Tonight, as the Russian military and the Russian people were still reeling from the chaos and defeat caused by the heavy airstrikes on Russian cities and military airfields in recent days, Ukraine launched a much sharper airstrike on another critical Russian airbase 660km from the front line. Explosions rocked Russian airspace after Ukraine launched an overnight drone strike on Vladimir Putin’s fleet of warplanes. Thick clouds of smoke and fire were seen rising from Pskov airport in western Russia after the aggressive airstrike. This was touted as the most aggressive attack by the Ukrainian air force so far. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian drones targeted six regions of Russia early Wednesday. This attack appears to be the largest drone strike on Russian territory at this stage of the war, i.e. since Russia. Russian officials said attacks by drones were reported in the Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov and Ryazan regions, as well as the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula. The most significant attack took place in Pskov, about 660 km (411 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, close to the Estonian and Latvian borders, where Russian officials said four Il-76 military transport aircraft were damaged. The attack in Pskov caused a massive fire and damaged four Il-78 transport planes and a nearby oil depot, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency officials. However, many published images show the Russian planes completely destroyed and unusable fireballs. The base is believed to be the location of Russia’s most combat-ready airborne division close to NATO’s borders. Other explosions and fires were also reported in the Tula and Bryansk regions. Kremniy El near Bryansk, one of Russia’s largest micro-electricity factories, was allegedly hit. This marks Kiev’s second bold night attack deep behind enemy lines in recent days. Pskov Regional Governor Mikhail Vedernikov ordered the cancellation of all flights to and from Pskov airport on Wednesday, citing the need to assess the damage in daylight. Images and footage posted on social media overnight showed smoke billowing over the city of Pskov and a massive fire. Vedernikov said there were no casualties and the fire was under control. Images posted by Pskov’s governor on the Telegram messaging app showed smoke rising from a large fire as sirens and explosions rang out. Other reports on Telegram channels indicated that anti-aircraft systems were in operation around the city, located just 32 km (20 miles) east of the Estonian border. Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said on Telegram: “According to initial assessments, nothing serious happened, but it is difficult to determine this at night. If all goes well, the airport will resume normal operations on Thursday,“ he wrote, adding that there were no injuries. The Tass news agency quoted emergency services as saying that four Il-76 transport planes, long the workhorse of the Russian military, were damaged at the military airfield. Two of the planes “caught fire,“ it added. Russian military and defense officials said three Ukrainian drones were shot down in the southern Bryansk region, one in the central Orlov region and one in the Ryazan region south of Moscow. Airspace around Moscow’s Vnukovo airport was briefly closed, Tass reported. The Pskov region was previously targeted by drones in late May. Last week’s drone strike in Russia’s Belgorod region killed three people, hours after a drone crashed into central Moscow, Russian officials said. This comes just days after Russia’s flagship long-range Tu-22M3 heavy bomber was destroyed in a Ukrainian drone strike near the city of St Petersburg. While Ukraine has not said it carried out a specific drone strike, President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously said that attacks on Russian territory are “inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process“ as the war with Russia continues. Today, with this aggressive airstrike, we can see that Ukrainian forces have finally pushed and exceeded their limits. Ukrainian cities have long been under relentless Russian missile attacks. Although Ukraine’s air defenses have recently been much strengthened, some losses were inevitable. #russia #Ukraine #UkraineWar #russiaukrainewar #news #russiaukrainenews #War society, politics, knowledge, military, international relations