at the Marinovka base outside Volgograd. Photograph: Russian Defence Ministry/EPA
Ukraine’s military has said it struck four warplanes at an airbase in central Russia’s Volgograd region as part of a drive to hit Russian war assets. It said on Telegram it had hit four Su-34 aircraft at the Marinovka base outside the city of Volgograd, about 900km (550 miles) from the Ukrainian border. The post on Friday said the operation was conducted by the military’s special operations branch, together with the SBU security service and other services of the military. “According to preliminary information, four aircraft were hit, specifically SU-34 planes, as well as technical-operational facilities where different warplanes are serviced and repaired,” the statement said. There was no immediate comment from the Russian military.
Ukraine’s military said the damage to Marinovka was being assessed and described the Su-34 as Russia’s main aircraft used in bombing raids on Ukrainian territory. Volgograd governor Andrei Bocharov on Friday listed the region’s Kalanchyovsky district where Marinovka is located among three areas targeted by Ukrainian drones and said traffic on the bridge over the Don River in the district was temporarily restricted.
A Russian missile attack killed at least five people and wounded 25 in the industrial city of Samar in Ukraine’s south-east on Friday, officials said – the second strike on the city in three days. At least four of the wounded were in severe condition and taken to hospital, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram. Officials gave no immediate details on damage in the city, where an attack on an infrastructure facility on Tuesday killed two people.
Two people were killed and at least 14 wounded when a Russian drone smashed into a residential high-rise in Odesa, authorities said on Saturday. Three children were among the wounded in the overnight attack in the Ukrainian Black Sea city, with one in critical condition, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. Footage posted by the state emergency service showed firefighters battling a blaze and rushing residents down a dark stairwell in the 21-storey building.
