A military air base caught fire today in the Lipetsk region of Russia, 300 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, in an area hit overnight by Ukrainian drone strikes.
“A fire broke out at a military airfield in the Lipetsk region,” the regional Emergency Management Ministry said, as quoted by Russian official news agencies Tass and Ria Novosti.
Local authorities did not specify whether the fire was caused by a Ukrainian strike or not.
The regional governor admitted, however, that a Ukrainian drone strike damaged a power plant in the Lipetsk region early this morning.
“Lipetsk is the target of a massive drone strike,” Igor Artamonov wrote on the Telegram messaging platform.
“The energy infrastructure was damaged,” leading to power outages, Artamonov added later in a separate message, specifying that electricity supply was subsequently restored in most of the affected areas.
The governor declared a state of emergency in Lipetsk municipality and ordered the evacuation of four neighboring villages “to ensure the safety of residents,” a measure affecting 416 families.
Artamonov also urged Lipetsk residents to stay indoors until the alert is lifted.
Another Ukrainian drone attack was reported in the Belgorod region, near the border with Ukraine.
According to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, Russian air defenses shot down 29 drones and the attack caused material damage but no injuries.
