Report: Ukrainian military struck an air base on Russian soil over the weekend, killing three: report

a Ukrainian drone attack At a military air base in southern Russia, three Russian service members were killed over the weekend.

Ukraine’s air defense spokesman, Yuriy Ihnat, said of the attack, according to a Bloomberg report, “If the Russians think the war won’t touch them deep in their rear, they are dead wrong.”

the Russian Ministry of Defense On Monday, he said three Russian service members died as a result of falling debris after its forces shot down Ukrainian drones, while no aircraft was damaged in the attack.

The attack on Engels Air Base, located in Russia’s Saratov region more than 300 miles from the country’s border with Ukraine, is the second attack on the air base in less than a month. On December 5, a similar attack on the base destroyed two Tu-95 bombers. Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for either attack.

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The attack comes as the Ukrainian military claimed Sunday that Russia fired more than 40 missiles at Ukrainian towns on Christmas Day, but has not released any reports of damage or casualties in the attack.

The exchange between the two countries comes after the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky He made a high-profile trip to the United States to meet with President Biden and address a joint meeting of Congress last week, when he implored Americans and Western allies to continue their support for his country’s defense against a Russian military invasion.

Meanwhile, the Russian president Russian President Vladimir Putin On Sunday, he claimed Moscow was open to peace talks, but accused Ukraine and the West of not doing business with the Kremlin.

“We are ready to negotiate with all concerned about acceptable solutions, but it is up to them – we are not the ones who refuse to negotiate, they are,” Putin said during an interview on Russian state television.

A Ukrainian firefighter and soldier inspect a destroyed house after a Russian drone attack in the village of Stary Bezradichy, Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Monday, December 19, 2022.
(AP Photo/Felipe Dan)

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However, the United States and Ukraine continued to deny that Russia had shown any openness to the talks, with Zelensky’s adviser Mykhailo Podolak saying on Sunday that Putin was trying to step aside from responsibility for the deaths of Ukrainian citizens.

“Russia attacked Ukraine on its own and is killing citizens,” the adviser said. “Russia does not want negotiations, but it is trying to avoid responsibility.”

In a Christmas speech to Ukrainians, Zelensky boasted that Ukrainian forces had continued to hand Putin defeats on the battlefield, but warned residents to be “prepared for any scenario” with the conflict dragging on into 2023.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to speak during a joint meeting of Congress at the US Capitol on December 21, 2022.
(Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“Russia has lost everything it could this year… I know that darkness will not prevent us from leading the occupiers to new defeats,” he said. “But we have to be prepared for any scenario.”