Russian MoD: 3 servicemen killed by Ukraine’s drone attack on airfields in Ryazan and Saratov regions

An attack by Ukraine’s drone has killed three servicemen and injured four at the Dyagilevo airfield in Russia’s Ryazan region and the Engels airfield in the Saratov region, Russia’s defence Ministry has said in a statement.

“On the morning of 5 December, the Kyiv regime attempted to attack by Soviet-made UAVs the military airfields at Dyagilevo in the Ryazan region and Engels in the Saratov region in an effort to disable Russian long-range aircraft,” the agency’s statement reads.

Russian air defence forces intercepted the Ukrainian UAVs as they were flying at a low altitude, MoD claims. The crash and explosion of the wreckage on the Russian airfields caused minor damage to the hull armour of the two aeroplanes, the agency says.

“Despite attempts by the Kiev regime to disrupt the combat operations of Russian Long-Range Aviation by an act of terrorism, today at around 3 pm (Moscow time) the command and control system and related defense complex facilities, communication hubs, power plants, and military units of Ukraine were struck with high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons,” reads the statement.

Ukraine reported earlier today that two individuals had been killed by Russia’s missile strike in Novosofiyivka, the Zaporizhzhia region. Residents in the regions of Kherson, Vinnytsia, Odesa, and Poltava have reported sounds of explosions. Denys Smyhal, the country’s PM, reported that Russia’s missiles had damaged energy infrastructure facilities.

The attacks on airfields in the Saratov region and the Ryazan region were reported earlier today.