Explosion at airbase for strategic bombers
Engels airbase is home to Russia’s long-range missile bombers Tu-95 and Tu-160, planes often flying missions outside Norwegian air space.
Local media on reports that two Tu-95 aircraft were damaged in what is believed to be a drone attack on the base early Monday morning.
News-online Saratov-Version, talking to local eyewitnesses, can tell that roads around Engels are now closed by police.
A video posted on social media show a big blast followed by explosion noice. The local Ministry of Emergency Situations, however, said they have “no information on what had happened.”
Engels airbase is one of Russia’s strategically most important military units with the largest number of nuclear capable bomber planes, an important part of the country’s deterrence forces.
The base is some 600 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers that fly missions north over the Barents- and Norwegian Seas are normally coming from Engels airbase.
Earlier this autumn, the Barents Observer reported that several of the strategic bombers from Engels were temporarily deployed north to Olenya airbase on the Kola Peninsula.
Unconfirmed reports could Monday around noon report about several of the Tu-95 bombers at Engelsk taking off, likely to be deployed to other airfields in Russia.
The Defense Ministry in Moscow has so far not made any public statements and national media has few reports.
There are also unconfirmed reports about explosions at the Dyagilevo airbase in Ryazan, also home to a few of Russia’s strategic bombers.
