A large fire has broken out at a long-range aviation base in southern Russia housing nuclear-capable bomber aircraft after a drone attack, according to a local official and Russian sources.
Roman Busargin, the governor of Russia's Saratov region, said early on Wednesday that the city of Saratov and the Engels airbase roughly eight miles to the east came under a "massive" drone attack overnight.
The governor said there was "damage" to an unspecified industrial building. Several Russian independent and state-linked sources on Telegram reported a large fire at an oil depot close to the Engels airbase.
Massive UAV attack against the Engels air base in Saratov, Russia. Locals reported that around three dozen explosions occurred in this vicinity. Apparently, the fuel depot has been shot ablaze. pic.twitter.com/vlkSywkJX7
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) January 8, 2025Russian independent outlet Astra said it had geolocated footage of the blaze to an oil storage facility in Engels. Newsweek could not independently verify this.
Ukrainian media reported the oil depot belonged to Russia's federal reserves agency, responsible for storing fuel for the Engels airbase.
Moscow's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it had intercepted 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 11 over the Saratov region, but did not report any damage.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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