The drone strikes on targets across Eastern Russia overnight are the largest of the Ukraine war so far, reports claim, and hit targets as far away from Kyiv as northeastern Europe near the Estonian border, allegedly destroying Russian military aircraft on the ground.
Six Russian regions as well as Russian-occupied Ukraine were struck by drones in the early hours of Wednesday, including the Estonia and Latvian-bordering Peskov region, with claims including material damage to Russian infrastructure and military equipment. Among the targets allegedly hit was Pskov airport, a microchip factory in Bryansk, bordering Belarus, an oil storage facility in Kaluga bordering Moscow, and Sevastopol on the Black Sea, reports The Times of London.
Ukraine has claimed the drone strike destroyed four Russian military aircraft, Il-76 strategic airlift jets. Many Western reports state two jets were destroyed and a further two were damaged, reports that rely on unverified social media footage.
The strikes on the Pskov region are remarkable because they are an extremely long way away from Ukraine, and suggest either Russia is struggling to shoot down drones in flight over its territory, or that the strikes on this region are being launched from within Russia itself, as has been previously suggested. Peskov airport is some 500 miles from Kyiv.
Per normal operations, Ukraine has not directly claimed responsibility for the strikes. It has been their practice throughout the war to keep a distance from attacks against the Russian interior itself, generally blaming strikes on anti-Putin partisans if pressed instead, likely intended to prevent Kyiv’s NATO backers from voicing concerns about their donated weapons being used outside of Ukraine itself.
Russia, on the other hand, have rejected the significance of the raids, saying the attacks against the Russian interior demonstrate that the “Kiev regime” is in its “death throes”. As is typical for Moscow, they said — apparently without irony — the strikes were the works of terrorists and were a futile expression of “mindless hatred” for Russians.
Ukraine also came under heavy attack overnight. Per The Times, the drone and cruise missile attacks on cities across the country were the worst Ukraine had suffered since the Spring. Ukraine says it shot down almost all of the attack but nevertheless, falling debris still caused damage and started fires. Two people and three people are reported to have been injured, according to the Ukrainian government.
The proximity of Wednesday morning’s strikes to the Latvian and Estonian borders is a reminder of how close, at times, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought conflict to NATO’s borders. As reported earlier this month, Russia has been striking Ukrainian grain infrastructure just yards from the Romanian border, also a NATO member, where all that seperates the two nations is the strategically important River Danube.