Satellite image shows bombers at Engels Air Base in Saratov, Russia. Image used for representational purpose only. | Photo credit: Reuters
A woman was injured and houses were damaged in two major cities of Russia’s Saratov region as a result of a Ukrainian drone attack on Monday (August 26, 2024), the governor of the region southeast of Moscow said.
A residential complex in the city of Saratov was damaged by debris from drones destroyed by Russian air defence systems, regional governor Roman Basurgin said on the Telegram messaging app.
“A woman has been admitted to hospital in serious condition,” Mr Basurgin said. “Doctors are fighting for her life.”
Earlier, Mr Basurgin said emergency services had reached the affected sites in Saratov and Engels, the region’s major cities, located several hundred kilometres south-east of the capital.
Russia has a strategic bomber military base in Engels, which Ukraine has attacked several times since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
There was no immediate information about the damage at the base or the scale of the Ukrainian attack on the region, which lies several hundred kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
A video posted on Telegram by Russian news channel Shot showed a high-rise residential building in Saratov with a facade damaged and several windows blown out on three floors.
It said the top floor of a residential building in Angeles was damaged.
Reuters The reports could not be independently confirmed. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in their attacks, saying they aim to destroy infrastructure vital to the war effort.