Ukraine hits Russian military airbase in 'massive' drone attack
The Ukrainian army continued its incursion into the Russian region of Kursk on Friday. Overnight, it also launched "massive" drone attacks on the Lipetsk region, almost 300km from the border, where a fire broke out at a military base.
"Lipetsk is facing a massive drone attack," said Igor Artamonov, the governor of the region. "Anti-aircraft defences are being deployed." He has declared a state of emergency. Russian news agencies Tass and Ria Novosti report that a fire has also broken out at a military airfield in Lipetsk.
The Ukrainian army claimed the drone strike on the Lipetsk airbase. The general staff speaks of a successful attack. "During the attack, depots with guided bombs and other installations in the area of the airbase were hit," it said. "A large fire broke out and several explosions were reported."
Surprise incursion
The attacks are part of Ukraine's surprise incursion into the Kursk region this week. According to Russia, Ukraine has entered the country with around 1,000 troops and several armoured vehicles. The US think-tank Institute for the Study of War reported that the Ukrainians had advanced at least 10km into Russian territory, breaking through two lines of defence.
"The root cause of any escalation, shelling, military actions ... is solely Russia's undeniable aggression and invasion of Ukraine," Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential administration, wrote on X.
While the military value of the incursion is likely to be negligible, as a political strategy it has been very successful, Ukraine expert Jade McGlynn told the Guardian. "It suggests once again that Putin's 'red lines' are just words and that Russia is not as strong as some make it out to be."
© PHOTO GENYA SAVILOV / AFP
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