Officials in Kiev report that the largest Russian missile and drone raid on the capital of Ukraine in months left two people dead and one injured.
Russian officials claimed that Ukraine used drones to attack targets in six different Russian regions, including an airport in the western city of Pskov, close to the borders with Latvia and Estonia, where military transport aircraft were reportedly damaged amid explosions and a massive fire.
The Russian defense ministry reported on Wednesday morning that drones were also shot down over the surrounding areas of Moscow, Orlov, Bryansk, Ryazan, and Kaluga in what may be the largest drone attack on Russian territory since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
In addition, on Wednesday morning, Russian launched a missile and drone attack against Kyiv, which was referred to as the “most powerful strike” on the Ukrainian capital in months. According to the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, two people were killed and one was injured.
According to authorities, more than 20 missiles and drones used in the attack were destroyed by Ukrainian air defenses, and two security guards died as a result of falling debris.
“Kyiv had not experienced such a powerful attack since spring… In total, more than 20 enemy targets were destroyed by air defence forces,” the Kyiv City Military Administration wrote on Telegram.
Russian state news agency TASS, quoting emergency services, said earlier on Wednesday that four Il-76 heavy transport aircraft, which have long been the workhorse of the Russian military, were damaged at an airfield in Russia’s western Pskov region, located roughly 660km (some 411 miles) north of Ukrainian border.
The regional governor of Pskov, Mikhail Vedernikov, posted a video of a large fire with explosions and sirens in the background on the messaging app Telegram and stated, “The defense ministry is repelling a drone attack in Pskov’s airport.”
Vedernikov, who was present at the scene of the assault, stated that “based on early reports, there are no victims.”
The scale of the damage to the airport was being assessed, he said.
SOURCE: ALJAZEERA
