Russian air defences have intercepted drones heading toward three western regions, while satellite images indicated that a major drone barrage earlier this week destroyed at least two Ilyushin Il-76 military transport planes at an air base, officials said.
Regional governors said defence systems stopped three drones in the Kursk, Belgorod and Moscow regions.
Moscow airports briefly halted flights but no major damage or injuries were reported, according to Russian authorities.
Drones aimed at targets inside Russia – and blamed by Moscow on Ukraine – have become almost a daily occurrence as the war entered its 19th month and Kyiv’s forces pursue a counter-offensive. Recently, the drones have reached deeper into Russia.
Kyiv officials normally neither claim nor deny responsibility for attacks on Russian soil.
The apparent Ukrainian strategy is to unnerve Russia and pile pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Associated Press was unable to determine whether the drones are launched from Ukraine or inside Russia.
Meanwhile, satellite images analysed by AP show that suspected Ukrainian drone attacks late Tuesday destroyed at least two Ilyushin Il-76 military transport planes at a Russian air base.
The images taken on Thursday show Princess Olga Pskov International Airport, which is a dual military-civilian airport about 400 miles north of the Ukrainian border and near Estonia and Latvia.
The four-engine Il-76 is the workhorse of the Russian military’s airlift capacity, able to land and take off in rugged conditions. The Russian military is believed to have over 100 of them in its fleet.
The AP analysis showed what appeared to the blackened hulks of two Il-76s on separate parking pads on the air base’s apron.
Today was full of events.
With government officials and military, we focused on the frontlines and our offensive operations. The range of our new Ukrainian weapons is now 700 kilometers. The task is to make this number bigger.
Another important piece of news for the frontline… pic.twitter.com/MmfSQupY2L— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 31, 2023
One included the plane’s tail, the other appeared to show pieces of another aircraft. Fire damage could be seen around the pad.
Eleven other Il-76s had been moved off their parking pads into different positions on the airport’s taxiways, possibly in an attempt to make it more difficult for them to be struck again. One was on the runway itself. Another Il-76 remained on the pad, though it was not clear why.
Local reports said Ukrainian drone attacks on the air base had damaged four Il-76s.
The satellite image was taken at 1.03pm GMT (2.03pm BST) on Thursday. Videos on social media on Thursday night showed anti-aircraft fire at the air base again, though it remains unclear whether this meant another attack was taking place.
The air base at Pskov was initially targeted on Tuesday night, but cloud cover prevented satellites from obtaining an unobstructed picture.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had developed a weapon that hit a target 400 miles away, apparently referencing the air base attack. He described the weapon as being produced by Ukraine’s ministry of strategic industries but gave no other details.
The Kremlin’s forces have targeted Ukraine with numerous salvos of Iranian-made exploding drones in the war over the past year.
