A Russian airport near the border with Estonia came under drone attack, the local governor said on Wednesday, with reports that planes were damaged.
Regional governor Mikhail Vedernikov, who said he was at the scene of the attack, posted a video on Telegram of a massive fire, with the sounds of explosions and sirens in the background.
A drone attack "has been repelled in Pskov airport," Vedernikov wrote, adding authorities were assessing the damage but there were no casualties.
Pskov is located roughly 800 kilometres (nearly 500 miles) from Ukraine's border and the surrounding region borders EU member states Latvia and Estonia.
There was no immediate comment from the defence ministry but four heavy transport planes were reportedly damaged.
All Wednesday flights at the airport were cancelled, Vedernikov wrote, "until the nature of the possible damage to the runway is clarified."
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 May.
Moscow and other Russian regions have been targeted in recent weeks by a barrage of Ukrainian drone attacks after Kyiv vowed this summer to "return" the conflict to Russia.
- Black Sea ships -
Moscow later said forces had destroyed four Ukrainian boats carrying up to 50 troops in the Black Sea.
An aircraft "destroyed four high-speed military boats" around midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT), the Russian defence ministry wrote on Telegram.
The ministry said the boats had been carrying "landing groups of Ukrainian special operations forces with a total number of up to 50 people."
It did not give details on exactly where in the Black Sea the incident took place.
Both Ukraine and Russia have ramped up activity in the area after a United Nations-brokered deal to ensure safe navigation for grain ships in the Black Sea collapsed last month.
Russia has since pounded Ukraine's port infrastructure on the sea and on the Danube River.
Kyiv has attacked Russian ships in its waters and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Last week, Moscow's defence ministry said one of its jets destroyed a Ukrainian "reconnaissance boat" near Russian gas production facilities in the Black Sea.
It later said it also destroyed a US-made speedboat carrying Ukrainian troops east of Snake Island, without providing further detail.
Artificial Intelligence Analysis
Litany: A drone attack occurred at a Russian airport near the border with Estonia. The regional governor Mikhail Vedernikov reported that there were no casualties, but that damage was being assessed. The attack resulted in the cancellation of flights at the airport until the damage to the runway could be clarified. Four Ilyushin Il 76 heavy transport planes were reported to be damaged, and airspace above Moscows Vnukovo airport was closed. This region of Pskov was previously targeted by drones in May.
Myth/Metaphor:
The Russian government is under siege from Ukrainian attacks. They destroyed four Ukrainian boats carrying up to 50 troops in the Black Sea, defending their homeland and staving off the danger of an invasion. The drone attack is a sign of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and it serves as a reminder of the threat that Russia faces from its neighbors. The attack also serves as a wake-up call for Russia to take more proactive steps to protect its citizens and its airspace.
This AI report is generated by a sophisticated prompt to a ChatGPT API. Our editors clean text for presentation, but preserve AI thought for our collective observation. Please comment and ask questions about AI use by Spacedaily. We appreciate your support and contribution to better trade news.
