Three Killed in Ukrainian Drone Attack Deep Inside Russia

The attacks targeted the Engels airfield, which is about 300 miles from the Ukrainian border

Three Russian soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Engels airfield in Russia’s Saratov Oblast early Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The Engels airfield is about 300 miles from the Ukrainian border and was targeted by a similar attack earlier this month. In the latest attack, Russian officials said that a Ukrainian drone was shot down while it was approaching the airfield.

“As a result of the fall of the wreckage of the drone, three Russian technical servicemen who were at the airfield were fatally injured,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

It’s not clear what type of drone was shot down on Monday. In the attacks Ukraine launched earlier this month, Russia said modified Russian Tu-141 drones were used. NATO military sources told Asia Times that the Tu-141s used US satellite GPS data to hit their targets despite Biden administration claims that the US didn’t “encourage nor enable” the attacks.

The Times recently reported that the Pentagon now tacitly backs Ukrainian attacks inside Russia, risking a major escalation with Moscow. The report said that the US was no longer concerned that Ukrainian attacks inside Russia could lead to a major escalation based only on the fact that Moscow hasn’t yet responded with nuclear weapons or attacks on NATO countries.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.