A drone strike in the city of Pskov in northwestern Russia has damaged four heavy transport planes, state media reported early on Wednesday.
“The defence ministry is repelling a drone attack in Pskov’s airport,” regional governor Mikhail Vedernikov said on social media, posting video footage that appeared to show a massive fire, with the sounds of explosions and sirens in the background.
Vedernikov ordered all flights to and from the Pskov airport to be cancelled on Wednesday, citing the need to assess the damage during daylight.
Pskov is located about 800km (nearly 500 miles) from Ukraine’s border and the surrounding region borders EU member states Latvia and Estonia.
The attack was part of a wave of reported drone attacks in the early hours of Wednesday, with the Russian defence ministry reporting that drones were also shot down over the regions of Oryol, Bryansk, Ryazan, Kaluga and Moscow.
Pskov appeared to be the only region where the drones caused damage, though media reported the sounds of explosions in some regions. Three drones were shot down in the Bryansk region, according to the Russian military, and two over the Oryol region, its governor Andrei Klychkov said.
One was downed in the Ryazan region, one more over Kaluga, and one more in the Moscow region, officials said. No damage or casualties were registered in those regions.