Ukrainian drone strikes damage military planes in Russia, strikes on Kyiv kill at least 2 | DW News

Russian officials said drone strikes in Pskov damaged four military transport planes and temporarily caused the airport to suspend operations. Ukrainian forces launched drone attacks on multiple Russian regions overnight, damaging military planes and disrupting air traffic, Russian officials said on Wednesday. Drone attacks were reported in Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov and Ryazan regions as well as the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, Russian officials said. In Pskov, near the border with Estonia and Latvia, four Il-76 military transport planes were damaged. Footage shared on social media showed a large fire and smoke rising above the city of Pskov. Pskov Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said on Telegram that there were no injuries, but announced the suspension of all flights from the airport for damage assessment. “If everything is in order, the airport will resume normal operations on Thursday,” he said. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory overnight “will not go unpunished.” There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials and Kyiv does not claim responsibility for specific drone strikes on Russian soil. Two people were killed and one injured in Kyiv following a Russian missile strike that led to falling debris and fires in several buildings, the local military administration said on Wednesday. “As a result of debris falling in Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv…2 people died, according to initial reports,” Sergiy Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, wrote on Telegram. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko also confirmed the casualties in a Telegram post. Klitschko said the bodies were found in a nonresidential building while several other buildings were on fire. Meanwhile, the military administration said that air defenses over Kyiv destroyed more than 20 drones and missiles, making it the “most powerful strike” on the city since spring.