Four Russian military aircraft destroyed in drone attack, Ukrainian defence intelligence says

A kamikaze drone attack launched on a military airfield in the Russian city of Pskov, in western Russian, destroyed four Il-76 military transport aircraft, Andrii Yusov, spokesman of the Ukrainian defence intelligence, told LIGA.net.

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Russian media reported that four Il-76 aircraft were ‘damaged’ in the attack overnight on Wednesday, two of which were "engulfed in flames".

Pskov is located about 670 kilometres away from Ukraine, which has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

The IL-76 is designed to transport equipment and cargo for various purposes. The aircraft is capable of delivering, depending on the modification, cargoes with a maximum weight of 28-60 tonnes over a distance of 3,600-4,200 kilometres at a cruising speed of 770-800 km/h.

Pskov hosts the Kresty military airfield and the Cherokhino military base, used by the 104th guards air assault regiment of the Russian armed forces.

They are known to have committed war crimes in the Kyiv region, including in the town of Bucha, at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February.

The drone attack on Russia overnight on Wednesday has been the largest so far, with dozens of UAVs spotted across six Russian regions.