Online Desk: The Russian military was repelling a drone attack on an airport in the northwestern city of Pskov, the regional governor said early Wednesday. There was no immediate comment from the defence ministry but four heavy transport planes were reportedly damaged, AFP reports.
Pskov is located roughly 800 kilometres (nearly 500 miles) from Ukraine’s border and the surrounding region borders EU member states Latvia and Estonia. “The defence ministry is repelling a drone attack in Pskov’s airport,” regional governor Mikhail Vedernikov said on social media, posting a video of a massive fire, with the sounds of explosions and sirens in the background.
Vedernikov said he was at the scene of the attack. “According to preliminary information, there are no victims,” he said, adding that the scale of the damage was being assessed. State news agency TASS, citing emergency services, said that four Ilyushin Il-76 heavy transport planes had been damaged.
Citing air traffic services, TASS also reported that airspace above Moscow’s Vnukovo airport had been closed. The region of Pskov was previously targeted by drones in late May. In recent weeks Moscow and other Russian regions have been targeted by a barrage of Ukrainian drone attacks after Kyiv vowed this summer to “return” the conflict to Russia.