In the early hours of Monday, August 26, 2024, Ukrainian drones struck high-rise residential buildings in the Russian city of Saratov and across the Volga River in Engels, Saratov Oblast Governor Roman Busargin reported. The drone attacks caused significant damage and injured at least one person, who remains in serious condition.
“Air defense systems shot down drones early this morning,” Busargin wrote on Telegram. “Debris fell on residential buildings in both Saratov and Engels.” Videos circulating on social media show a drone striking the Volga Sky apartment complex, the tallest building in Saratov, which overlooks the Volga River. This building sustained heavy damage in the attack.
WATCH: Drone crashes into high-rise building in Saratov, Russia pic.twitter.com/IIf1TU7ijg
— BNO News (@BNONews) August 26, 2024
In Engels, images from the scene showed debris from the drone impacting the Engels City 4 complex, a 25-story residential building completed in 2021. The Engels region, just across the river from Saratov, is home to the Engels-2 airbase, which houses Russia’s strategic Tu-160 and Tu-95MS bombers. The proximity of the strikes to this military facility has led analysts to suggest that the airbase or a nearby aviation repair plant may have been the actual targets.
In the neighboring city of Engels, near which a military airbase is located, a drone crashed into the roof of the Engels-City 4 building, and its debris damaged two dozen cars.#Russia pic.twitter.com/Hmf9QrsItK
— Svitlana Bzhalava 🇺🇦 (@Svitlan66621180) August 26, 2024
Despite claims by Russia’s Defense Ministry that all drones were intercepted by air defenses, local footage indicates direct impacts on residential structures. These drone attacks are part of a broader wave of strikes across Russian territory, with additional incidents reported in regions such as Kursk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Tula, Oryol, and Ryazan.
Saratov, located approximately 560 miles from the front lines of the conflict, has been targeted multiple times since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, particularly due to the strategic importance of the Engels-2 airbase.Â
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