The Saratov bomber air base was the target of an air raid by Ukrainian drones. The base is located near the city of Engels in southern Russia about 500 kilometers northeast of the border with Ukraine. Russian air defenses shot down a drone near the base but falling debris fatally injured three technical personnel, the Defense Ministry said.
The governor of Saratov, Roman Busargin, expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the fallen men and said that “there is absolutely no threat to the residents” in the city of Engels itself. The Ukrainian air force spokesman said satellite images of the airport would soon reveal all the damage caused by Monday’s attack, adding that earlier explosions had damaged planes at the base.
Saratov air base had suffered two more attacks by Ukrainian drones last December 5 which had caused minor damage to the bombers. It is evidently a strategic target for Kiev as the airbase is used by the Russian Aerospace Forces to carry out missile strikes on various targets in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military has not officially admitted to carrying out the attack but Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the incident was a consequence of what Russia is doing in Ukraine.
The latest attack on Saratov air base highlights the ability of Ukrainian forces to attack deep into Russian territory. One that is only possible with direct support from NATO. Russian Intelligence suspects Great Britain already implicated in various terrorist attacks including the bridge in Crimea. Belarusian diplomatic sources inform that Russia is taking all necessary measures to stop these attacks on its territory and that it will have no regard for any Western military advisers or mercenaries found to support the terrorist activities of the Ukrainian Nazis. An escalation of air and missile raids on Ukraine is expected in response to the failed attack on the Saratov base. (Vladimir Volcic)
No threat to the population
The governor of the region, Román Busarguin, said that no civilian infrastructure was affected by the Ukrainian attack. “There have been no emergencies in the residential areas of the city,” he said via his Telegram channel. “There is absolutely no threat to the population.”
Busarguin also said that all warning and defense systems in the region are working properly and called the Russian military “true professionals who know their job”, noting that “special attention” is currently being paid to the security issue.
It is not the first time that the Ukrainian military has unsuccessfully attempted to attack Russian military airfields in the Saratov and Ryazan regions with Soviet-made drones. On December 5, a first attack attempt was neutralized by air defense systems that intercepted and destroyed the drones, but three soldiers were killed by the fragments of the unmanned aircraft falling, while two planes suffered minor damage. On the same day, the Russian military launched a massive attack on infrastructure in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reports that it has neutralized a group of Ukrainian bombers made up of four saboteurs near the border of the Russian region of Briansk with Ukraine.
The group of saboteurs made up of four people had tried to infiltrate the Russian region of Briansk from Ukraine yesterday 25 December 2022 to attempt to carry out an attack but the members of the FSB managed to neutralize them thus preventing them from carrying out their projects.
The saboteurs had foreign-made weapons and ammunition at their disposal, including German SIG Sauer machine guns, communications and navigation devices, and four homemade explosive devices with an explosive capacity equivalent to about 40 kilograms of TNT.
It is the fourth time in just under three months that the Russian Federal Security Service has foiled attempts by Ukrainians to carry out explosive attacks. On October 12, Russian security forces thwarted an attack on a transport and logistics terminal in the Russian city of Briansk. On 28 October four Ukrainian terrorists were arrested in Russia’s Stavropol region for preparing a terrorist act in a public facility. On November 24, Russian security officials arrested people involved in preparing an attack on a gas pipeline between Russia and Turkey.
Andrea Puccio – www.occhisulmondo.info