Ukraine has struck a key Russian airbase housing nuke bombers with footage showing a huge explosion rising into the sky.
A black mushroom cloud erupted early Thursday morning from Engels airbase after Kyiv bombed it in a drone attack.
The base is about 700km (435miles) from the front lines and it hosts Russia’s Tupolev Tu-160 nuclear capable heavy strategic bombers.
Russia has now declared a state of emergency in the Engels district following the explosion.
Ukraine hit a warehouse holding missiles at the airbase, reports claim, with 10 people injured in the blast.
Footage appeared to show munitions flying away from the blast as they caught fire in secondary explosions.
Locals claimed the strikes had hit an ammunition depot crammed with missiles and fuel – which had triggered the huge explosion.
The smoke could be seen from miles away with residential homes damaged by the shockwave.
An urgent evacuation of civilians “for safety reasons” was reportedly ordered and the closure of schools in the area, including Saratov city after the 4am attack.
The local governor said there had been a Ukrainian drone attack on the town of Engels.
Russia’s defence ministry said its air defences had shot down 132 drones over Russia, including 54 in the Saratov region where the Engels base is located.
Ukraine has targeted Engels airbase before, even hitting and destroying two of the nuke bombers.
In 2022, footage showed a huge flash at the Engels airbase when Ukraine struck it – destroying two of the planes.
The bombers have been used to blast targets in Ukraine with non-nuclear weapons, particularly in recent weeks as Putin continues to blitz the country’s infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Russia launched its own attack on Ukraine bombing the city of Kropyvnytskyi injuring 10 people, including a child.
The Ukrainian air force said that the Russian barrage, including on Kropyvnytsky, consisted of 171 drones and that its air defence shot down 75 drones.
Another 63 were downed by electronic jamming systems or were lost.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, said: “Kropyvnytskyi. This is what Putin’s ceasefire looks like.
“Russia takes great pleasure in attacking civilians.”
Two other people were killed and several others wounded after Russia dropped more than three dozen glide bombs on the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
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