Kiev/Moscow: Ukraine has said that four Il-76 transport aircraft were destroyed during an overnight drone attack at Pskov airport in western Russia.
“Four Il-76 have been destroyed on Wednesday and cannot be restored. A few more (aircraft) units were damaged,” Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence, told the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency.
He did not specify whether Ukraine was responsible for the attack, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian media reported that Il-76 transport aircraft were damaged during a drone attack at Pskov airport, citing the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Pskov Region Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said that there were no victims according to preliminary information, and the scale of the destruction was being specified.
According to the airport’s website, Russia’s 334th Military Transport Aviation Regiment armed with II-76 aircraft was stationed at the airport by the time of the drone attack.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a weekly briefing on Wednesday that Ukraine would not have been able to hit targets deep inside the Russian territory without satellite data obtained from the West.
Zakharova warned that Ukraine’s actions will not be left unpunished.
Commenting on Kiev’s recent drone attacks, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said Russian military experts were investigating the launch routes of the drones to prevent such situations in the future and Moscow will take all necessary measures.
Ukraine launched drone attacks on targets in seven Russian regions overnight.
Pskov is a city in western Russia, located 20 km east of the Estonian border.
(IANS)
