While the exact causes remain unclear at this stage, explosions shook two different Russian airbases, Engels and Dyagilevo on December 5. The Russian Ministry of Defense has claimed that Ukraine used Soviet-made jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles to prosecute the attacks, but that the drones were intercepted by Russian air defenses.
Meanwhile, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, has claimed that drones of an undisclosed type were responsible for the explosion on at least one of the two airbases
Located deep inside the country, Engels and Dyagilevo support long-range bombers used in Moscow’s standoff airstrikes on Ukraine. Russian bombers — almost certainly including ones flying from at least one of the bases where the blasts occurred — were also involved in a new wave of airstrikes against Ukraine today, preparations for which appear to have started at least a week ago.
The airbase at Engels — also known as Engels-2 — in the Saratov region is the main Russian Long-Range Aviation Base in the western part of the country and is roughly 300 miles from the Ukrainian border. An explosion here was reported early on Monday morning, just after 6:00 am local time, supported by videos posted to social media that show a major blast at the base.
Locals reported that the explosion could be heard from miles away. Another video, taken in the Saratov region, seems to include the sound of a jet engine overhead just prior to the blast. This could well be the attacking drone itself.
The extent of the damage caused by the explosion at Engels is unconfirmed, although there are reports from Russian media outlets that two Tu-95MS Bear-H strategic bombers were damaged and two people injured.
Less information is currently available on the explosion at the Long-Range Aviation base at Dyagilevo, also known as Ryazan, located around 150 miles from Moscow and approximately 280 miles from the Ukrainian border. Here, the Russian Ministry of Defense has reported that three maintenance personnel were killed and five wounded. This explosion was initially attributed to an exploding fuel truck. That may well be the case and that vehicle could have been hit by a drone or the wreckage from it.
A photo shared on the Telegram messaging app purports to show the aftermath of the blast, with a damaged truck and a Tu-22M3 Backfire-C, and a Tu-134UBL crew training aircraft in the background. The horizontal stabilizer and engine nozzles of the Tu-22M3 have been badly damaged.
Source: The Drive