A drone attack on the airport of the north-western city of Pskov has damaged four Ilyushin Il-76 heavy transport planes, according to Russian media reports. The attack occurred on Wednesday morning when a group of unidentified drones launched explosives at the military section of the airport. The local governor said the defense ministry was repelling the attack and that there were no casualties.
The attack was captured on video by the governor, Mikhail Vedernikov, who posted it on his Telegram account. The footage showed a large fire and an explosion at the airport, while sirens and gunshots could be heard in the background. Vedernikov said the scale of the damage was being assessed and that he was at the scene of the attack.
The Pskov airport hosts both civilian and military aircraft and is located close to the borders of Latvia and Estonia, which are members of the European Union and NATO. The airport is more than 600 km (372 miles) away from Ukraine, where Russia has been involved in a war with Ukrainian forces since 2014.
The drone attack on Pskov is the latest in a series of raids by Ukrainian drones on Russian territory in recent weeks. Russia has claimed to have downed dozens of Ukrainian drones over Crimea, Moscow and other regions, while Ukraine has denied any involvement. The drone attacks have raised tensions between the two countries and their allies, as well as concerns over the security of civilian aviation.