Ukraine launched drone strikes against multiple targets inside Russia on Saturday, including an Arctic Circle air base where a strategic long-range bomber was hit, according to reports.
Drones also reportedly struck a military airfield about 100 miles southeast of Moscow where Russia trains it long-range bomber crews.
In a video message following the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that "each destroyed Russian airbase, each destroyed Russian military aircraft — whether on the ground or in the air — means saving Ukrainian lives."
"Guys, our warriors, I thank you for your precision!" he said.
At least three explosions were heard at the Dyagilevo air base in Russia's Ryazan region around 6 a.m. Saturday, the Kyiv Post reported.
A resident in the city of Ryazan reportedly wrote on social media that the base was "just a stone's throw" away, adding, "My window was open, I almost s--- myself from the sounds."
A video clip posted online by the Astra news website reportedly showed a column of smoke rising from the airfield.
Russia's Engels air base, which houses bombers about 350 miles further southeast in the Saratov region, was also struck about two hours later, the Kyiv Post said.
Damage inflicted at both sites had yet to be confirmed, the Kyiv Post said, citing an unidentified Ukrainian intelligence official.
But a long-range, supersonic Tu-22M3 bomber was hit at the Olenya air base in Russia's far northern Murmansk region near the borders of Norway and Finland, according to the Ukrainian Pravda website, which cited a Ukrainian intelligence source.
The attack, which took place more than 1,100 miles from Ukraine's border, marked the first inside the Arctic Circle since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to Norway's Barents Observer website.
The Olenya air base houses aircraft that are frequently used to fire cruise missiles at civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, including the children's hospital in Kyiv that was attacked earlier this month, the Barents Observer said.
Russia didn't comment on the drone attacks, but a Saturday report by Russia's Interfax news agency said the Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down ten "U.S.-made HIMARS rockets" and 81 drones.
They reportedly included 37 that were "outside the special operation zone," the report added, a reference to Ukraine.
