Russian nuke bombers 'damaged in suspected Ukrainian drone strike on airbase'
5 December 2022, 12:34 | Updated: 5 December 2022, 12:46
A pair of Russian nuclear bombers are thought to have been destroyed after air bases came under attack overnight.
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Ukraine is suspected to be behind an attack on the Engels-2 base, which houses long-range strategic bombers, in Saratov, but Kyiv did not take responsibility.
Two people were hurt by a blast in the base, Russian media reported, while three are said to have died and five have been injured in a separate attack on an airfield near Ryazan, south-east of Moscow. The bases are hundreds of miles from Ukraine.
Reports say two Tu-95 bombers, nicknamed Bears, which can carry nuclear weapons, were destroyed in the Engels-2 explosion.
Footage shows a huge blast light up the night sky.
The bombers have been used against Ukraine as part of a Russian campaign to destroy the country's infrastructure, having attacked its energy apparatus in the midst of freezing temperatures.
They will be familiar to Brits after years of footage of them being intercepted by RAF patrols when they fly close to the UK.
The governor of the Saratov region, in Russia's south west, said security units were responding to "reports of an incident at military installations".
Roman Busargin said: "Information about a loud explosion and outbreak in Engels in the early hours of this morning is spreading on social media and the media.
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"I would like to assure you that no emergencies have occurred in the residential areas of the city.
"There is no cause for concern. No civilian infrastructure was damaged."
It has been reported that 14 Tu-95s flew out of Engels-2 in a bid to get them further away from Ukraine and any potential future drone strikes.
In Ryazan, it has been claimed a fuel tank blew up during an attack, which was apparently a drone strike. The Ryazan base is used by Russian special forces.
"Everything in my house flew off the shelves. I thought the windows would fly out. We live not far from the take-off zone," said a resident.
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Another said: "The blast wave broke the latch on the window and flung it open. You could see a column of smoke and sparks.
"The explosion was a single one, strong. There was no exact sound of something falling before the explosion. It looks like a fuel tank explosion to me."
