Russia has blamed Kyiv for a wave of drone attacks on six regions of the country that damaged at least four military aircraft, as the Kremlin said there would be no international investigation into the unexplained plane crash that killed senior members of the Wagner mercenary group, including its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The strikes came as Ukraine shot down 28 cruise missiles and 15 of 16 explosive drones fired by Russia in the early hours of Wednesday. Two people were killed and several injured by falling debris in Kyiv.
Russian officials said air defence systems engaged attack drones flying over the Moscow, Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov and Ryazan provinces and occupied Crimea, and that four giant Il-76 transport planes were damaged at a military base in Pskov – some 700km north of Ukraine – two of which were “engulfed in flames”.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, said four Il-76 planes were destroyed at Pskov and several others damaged. As is normal practice for Ukrainian officials discussing strikes on Russian territory, he did not say who was responsible for the drone attack.
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No casualties were reported, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “the terrorist activity of the Kyiv regime continues, the vast majority of drones fly towards civilian targets”.
[ Two killed in Kyiv as Russia accuses Ukraine of drone attacks in multiple areasOpens in new window ]
He said Russian president Vladimir Putin was immediately informed of the air strikes and that the military was trying to counter Ukrainian drone attacks that have become more frequent and damaging in recent weeks, repeatedly hitting an office complex in central Moscow that houses government agencies.
“I have no doubt that our military experts are currently working on these issues: the [drone] routes are being clarified, the way this was done is being analysed, so as to take appropriate measures to prevent such situations in future,” Mr Peskov added.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said “the Pskov conclusions are important. The war is increasingly moving to Russia’s territory, and it cannot be stopped.”
He said calls from some international quarters for Kyiv to refrain from attacking Russian territory “look strange and… encourage [Moscow] to continue its aggression” but stressed that Ukraine uses western-supplied weapons only to defend its own land.
Mr Podolyak also said calls for talks with Mr Putin were pointless, and that the “demonstrative murder” of Mr Prigozhin last week “shows that Putin will not comply with any agreements… and is focused solely on escalation, scaling up murder and destruction.”
The Kremlin has denied playing any role in downing the Brazilian-made Embraer private jet carrying Mr Prigozhin, six other senior Wagner members and three crew members as it flew from Moscow to Saint Petersburg last week, killing them all.
The crash occurred exactly two months after Mr Putin accused Wagner leaders of “betrayal” following a one-day revolt during which they seized the southern Russian city of Rostov, shot down several Russian military aircraft, killing those on board, and threatened to march on Moscow in protest at how the war in Ukraine was being run.
Brazil’s air accident investigation authority said it had been told by Russia that the crash inquiry would not be conducted according to international norms.
Mr Peskov said: “An investigation is taking place. It is being done by the investigative committee of Russia. It is precisely our own Russian investigation, there can be no talk of an international aspect.”
