Russia foils massive Ukraine drone attacks; planes damaged at Pskov airbase

Russia’s Defense Ministry has reported thwarting Ukrainian drones in five Russian regions, while drones hit an airport in the western Pskov region, amid a significant increase in Kiev's "terrorist" attacks.

In the early hours of Wednesday, Russian air defenses neutralized what appeared to be the biggest unmanned aerial vehicle attack (UAV) on Russian soil since Kiev increased such attacks following its failure to gain military victory in its much-publicized counteroffensive.

Russian air defense units prevented an “attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack by airplane-type UAVs on Russian infrastructure,” the military said in a brief statement.

Ukraine's drones were shot down over the regions of Moscow, Oryol, Kaluga, Ryazan, and Bryansk, while the Ukrainian UAVs crashed into an airport in the western Pskov region which appeared to be the only region where the Ukrainian drones caused damage.

The strike in Pskov started a massive fire and four Il-78 transport aircraft were damaged, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency officials.

Pskov regional Governor Mikhail Vedernikov ordered all flights to and from the Pskov airport canceled Wednesday, citing the need to assess the damage during daylight.

Footage and images posted on social media overnight showed smoke billowing over the city of Pskov, and a large blaze.

According to several Russian Telegram channels, over a dozen drones had targeted the Pskov airport.

Mash, a Russian news channel on the Telegram messaging app, reported that one of the drones may have struck a fuel depot and set it on fire, causing “thick black smoke” to rise above the city.

Vedernikov said there were no casualties, and the fire had been contained.

Moreover, shortly after midnight, three unmanned aircraft were shot down in the western Russian border region of Bryansk and at least one intercepted over Oryol, some 200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

SS