A state of emergency has also been declared in the neighbouring Lipetsk region. There, a military base 300 kilometres from the Ukrainian border was attacked by Ukrainian drones.
Ukraine has now claimed responsibility for the attack. According to Ukraine, a large stockpile of guided bombs was destroyed at the base. The base also houses several fighter jets and helicopters. According to a Ukrainian security source, most of them failed to take off on time, but it is not yet clear how many of the aircraft and helicopters Ukraine managed to destroy.
The governor of Lipetsk himself speaks of a “massive” drone attack and admits that it caused several explosions. Power was also cut off and 9 people were injured. According to the Russian news agency Interfax, a fire also broke out at the base. According to the governor, a power station in his district was also damaged. At least 400 homes in the area were evacuated.
Lipetsk Oblast borders Kursk Oblast, but at first glance the attack on the airbase seems somewhat irrelevant. In the past, Ukraine has regularly attacked airbases in Russian border regions, sometimes even deep inside Russia. It has now become a well-known tactic to destroy as many combat aircraft and munitions as possible to prevent them from being used to carry out attacks on Ukraine.
“At the beginning of August we cleared Mozrovsk airport of guided bombs and fighter jets, and today it is Lipetsk 2’s turn,” a Ukrainian security source told Reuters news agency.
