Ukraine says it destroyed Russian bomber at Engels airbase
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian long-range bomber at the Engels airbase, an aircraft he said Russia had used to launch missile strikes on Ukrainian cities. Russia has not yet publicly confirmed the loss.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukrainian forces struck and destroyed a Russian long-range bomber at the Engels airbase deep inside Russian territory. Zelenskyy said the aircraft had been used by Russia to launch missile strikes against Ukrainian cities.
Engels, located in Russia's Saratov region, has been targeted by Ukrainian strikes several times during the war as it serves as a key base for Russia's strategic bomber fleet. Ukrainian officials framed the strike as part of an ongoing campaign to degrade Russia's long-range strike capability.
Russian authorities had not publicly confirmed the loss of the aircraft as of Friday. Independent verification of the strike's precise outcome was not immediately available, though satellite imagery and open-source analysts have previously corroborated similar Ukrainian claims about the base.
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