On Thursday, Ukraine and Russia traded massive drone attacks amid talks the US has been holding with both sides on reaching a ceasefire.
One Ukrainian attack hit an airfield deep inside Russia that houses Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers. The attack on the airfield in Engels, Russia, reportedly hit an ammunition depot, causing a massive blast and damaging nearby homes in the region.
The governor of the Saratov Oblast said the Ukrainian attack on the region was the biggest yet. “Saratov and Engels came under the most massive drone attack ever. All emergency services are working hard to clear the aftermath,” Governor Roman Busargin, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces downed a total of 132 Ukrainian drones over Russia, including 54 over the Saratov Oblast. Busargin said 30 homes were damaged in the attack.
Ukrainian officials said that Russia fired a total of 171 drones into Ukraine and said 75 were shot down, and 63 were downed by electronic jamming or were lost. Russian glide bombs were also dropped on the Sumy and Kharkiv regions near the Russian border, and at least two people were killed.
The attacks came after both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to the idea of halting attacks on energy infrastructure. The partial ceasefire hasn’t been officially implemented, and the details are expected to be worked out in the coming days.
US, Russian, and Ukrainian officials are set to hold talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday to discuss the partial ceasefire. Russia and Ukraine won’t engage directly as the US will hold separate talks with either side.
Zelensky has said Ukraine was drawing up a list of facilities that could be subject to the partial ceasefire and that it could include port and rail infrastructure, not just energy infrastructure. The talks are also expected to work toward a ceasefire on attacks in the Black Sea.
