LONDON — Russian authorities reported a “huge” Ukrainian drone assault on the Engels airbase in Saratov Oblast in a single day, with Russia’s Protection Ministry claiming to have downed 54 drones over the world.
“Saratov and Engels at present suffered essentially the most huge UAV assault of all time,” Roman Busargin, the governor of Saratov area, wrote on Telegram. He reported a hearth burning on the airfield and harm to round 30 homes within the space.
Home windows had been additionally blown out at a close-by hospital — the place one lady was injured — in addition to two kindergartens and a faculty, Busargin wrote.
Engels — located greater than 465 miles from the Ukrainian border — is a serious strategic bomber base, from which Russian plane have launched long-range missile strikes by means of the 3-year-old warfare. It has been attacked a number of instances by Ukraine, most lately in January.
This picture exhibits a Maxar satellite tv for pc picture of Engels Air Base in Saratov Oblast, Russia, taken on Dec. 3, 2022.
Maxar/DigitalGlobe/Getty Photos
Andriy Kovalenko, the pinnacle of the Counter-Disinformation Heart working as a part of Ukraine’s Nationwide Safety and Protection Council, posted a purported video of the assault to Telegram, displaying what gave the impression to be a burning hearth at nighttime of night time.
“Russian Engels,” Kovalenko wrote. ABC Information was not instantly capable of confirm the footage.
In complete, Russia’s Protection Ministry claimed to have downed 132 Ukrainian drones over seven Russian or Russian-controlled areas on Wednesday night time into Thursday morning.
Ukrainian authorities, in the meantime, reported a serious Russian in a single day bombardment of the central metropolis of Kropyvnytskyi, with greater than 30 explosions reported.
The regional governor additionally stated Russia launched a “huge” assault on the jap metropolis of Kupyansk, near the entrance line. At the least 20 bombs had been dropped on the town in a matter of hours, they stated, with at the least one particular person killed and one other wounded.
Ukraine’s air power stated Russian launched 171 drones within the nation in a single day, 75 of which had been shot down and 63 misplaced in flight with out inflicting harm. “Kirovohrad, Sumy, and Donetsk areas had been affected by the Russian assault, ” the air power stated.
The most recent alternate of assaults got here simply after President Donald Trump spoke along with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the latter agreeing to a proposed 30-day ceasefire on assaults in opposition to power and infrastructure targets, which was additionally accepted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
The partial ceasefire is meant as a springboard for a broader pause in combating and eventual peace deal, American officers have stated.
Trump described the decision as “superb” in a put up to Reality Social. “A lot of the dialogue was based mostly on the decision made yesterday with President Putin with the intention to align each Russia and Ukraine when it comes to their requests and desires,” he stated.
“We’re very a lot on observe,” Trump added.
Native officers stroll on a faculty rooftop broken two days prior in an in a single day assault by Russian drones in Pechenihy, Ukraine, on March 19, 2025.
Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters
However long-range assaults by each side have continued all through the newest spherical of negotiations.
“That is what Putin’s ceasefire seems to be like,” Andriy Yermak — the pinnacle of Zelenskyy’s workplace — wrote on Telegram alongside a photograph of the aftermath of Russia’s in a single day assault on Kropyvnytskyi.
“Russia takes nice pleasure in attacking civilians,” he added.
ABC Information’ Tanya Stukalova, Will Gretsky and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
