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Two military planes at a Russian airport have been damaged in what appears to be the biggest drone attack on the country since the war in Ukraine began.
Unconfirmed media reports suggest between 10 and 20 drones hit an airport in the Pskov region, near the border with Estonia and Latvia, just before midnight.
Images on social media show a vast black cloud of smoke coming from the site, lit orange by flames at its base.
The strike on the airport, which serves the region’s namesake capital, damaged four Il-76 transport aircraft according to Russia’s state news agency Tass, citing emergency officials.
Further drones were shot down over Oryol, Bryansk, Ryazan, Kaluga and the Moscow region, Russia’s defence ministry said.
Pskov regional governor Mikhail Vedernikov ordered all flights to and from the struck airport to be cancelled today, so the damage can be assessed in daylight.
However, he said the fire had been contained and there were no casualties.
Three airports outside Moscow – Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Domodedovo – also temporarily halted flights, a measure that has become routine in the wake of the drone attacks.
There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials, who usually refuse to take responsibility for any attacks on the Russian soil.
Russia launched an attack on Kyiv with drones and missiles from Tu-95ms strategic aircraft this morning
A drone and missile attack launched on Kyiv by Russia early this morning killed two people and injured another, the head of Ukraine’s military administration Sergei Popko wrote on Telegram.
The deaths and injuries were caused by falling debris from a commercial building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, he said.
Popko added that more than 20 targets had been brought down by Ukraine’s air defences, in what he described as the biggest attack on the capital since spring.
Explosions were also reported in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa and the Cherkasy region.
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Between 10 and 20 drones reportedly hit an airport in the Pskov region of Western Russia.