According to Ukrainian military intelligence, a recent drone strike that destroyed numerous cargo aircraft at an airfield in northwest Russia was launched from within Russian territory.
The assertion was made as pupils returned to their schools for the second academic year since Russia’s invasion and Kyiv reported that police in the city were dealing with bomb threats.
This week’s assault on Pskov Airport, which is 700 kilometers (more than 400 miles) from Ukraine, was the most recent incident to shake Russian soil since Kyiv promised to “return” the war to Russia in July.
Russian drones were used to strike the “Kresty” air base in Pskov, according to Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s intelligence service, who posted the statement on social media on Friday.
“The strike caused four Russian IL-76 military cargo aircraft to be damaged. Two were severely damaged and two were destroyed, he said.
According to Budanov, the defense ministry utilized the aircraft to transfer personnel and supplies.
This week, the Kremlin said that military researchers were trying to determine the paths the drones are travelling in order “to prevent such situations in the future.”
On Friday, when questioned about the allegations made by Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov chose not to respond and instead referred inquiries to the defense ministry.
Pskov is flanked by NATO countries Belarus to the south and Estonia and Latvia to the west. It was also the target of drone attacks in late May.After the bomb scare, calm is advised.
Budanov made his remarks a day after a similar drone assault on the nation’s capital was thwarted by Russian air defenses, according to the mayor of the city.
Russian media said that Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports in Moscow had temporarily stopped all aviation travel.
Officials have downplayed the recent upsurge in aerial strikes, which have damaged commercial buildings, the Kremlin, and the financial sector of the city.
The country’s education ministry said that about four million pupils were returning to school, both online and in person, at the same time as reports of bomb threats in the capital city of Ukraine.
According to police spokesperson Yulia Girdvilis, “we have information about explosives in Kyiv’s schools.”
The State Emergency Service is assisting Kiev police forces in their inspection of all educational facilities.
Police urged people to “stay calm” and said that any evacuations will be determined by the police and the schools.
In a statement marking the start of the new school year, Ukrainian authorities said that hundreds of schools had been destroyed or damaged as a result of Russian bombardment since the invasion’s inception in February 2022.
The mayor of the western city of Lviv, Andriy Sadovy, said that schoolchildren would be learning to fly drones while posting a photo of kids seated in front of computers.
He posted pictures of kids sitting in front of computers mimicking drone flights while clutching controls, writing, “This is our new reality,” accompanied the caption, “This is our new reality.”Putin will welcome Erdogan
After Moscow canceled a contract enabling marine exports from Ukraine in July, tensions on the Black Sea have been rising in tandem with the rise in drone strikes within Russia.
But in defiance of a Russian naval blockade, Ukraine has developed a different path for cargo ships and revealed Friday that two additional boats have escaped.
Moscow has been asked to adhere to the agreement by Turkey, which mediated the agreement enabling grain shipments from Ukraine to the UN.
According to a Friday statement from the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday to discuss the collapsed accord.
On a recent trip to Moscow, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that it was “critical” for world food security to revive the agreement to transport Ukrainian grain over the Black Sea.
