Ukraine's security service, the SBU, struck a Russian Tu-95MS missile carrier at the Engels-2 airbase in Russia's Saratov region, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced. Satellite imagery indicates the aircraft sustained severe damage to its right wing.
This is the second Tu-95MS hit at the Engels-2 base within six weeks, representing a significant blow to Russia's aerial capabilities. These bombers are regularly employed to launch conventional missiles into Ukraine and are also part of Russia's nuclear strike force. "It is these aircraft that carry out attacks on Ukraine," Zelensky stated. "Thank you for your accuracy to all our soldiers - this is all a response to their attacks. The Russians must feel what their war is like."
The Tu-95MS aircraft are no longer in production, which complicates repair efforts. The Soviet-era Tu-95s, first flown approximately 70 years ago, remain a core component of Russia's nuclear deterrent and are the world's only propeller-driven strategic bombers.
In parallel, Russia conducted widespread drone attacks across Ukraine on Friday. Kyiv and its surrounding region experienced strikes that damaged warehouses and residential buildings. At least one person was killed outside the capital, according to regional Governor Tymur Tkachenko. Fourteen warehouse premises, 16 homes, and three apartment buildings sustained damage.
Ukrainian officials reported that these strikes targeted major retailers and consumer logistics centers, aiming to disrupt daily life. Nova Poshta, Ukraine's largest private courier service, reported that its sorting centers near Kyiv and in the northern city of Sumy were destroyed. In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian drone impacted a major home-improvement store, wounding at least four people.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service indicated that the Kyiv region had been attacked 38 times in the preceding 24 hours. The attacks on Friday followed a significant missile and drone assault the previous day. Officials suggested the repeated strikes were intended to paralyze infrastructure and wear down air defenses and the population.
Russia and Ukraine have intensified attacks in recent weeks, targeting economic infrastructure and logistics networks as part of their ongoing conflict.