Drone attacks oil tank at airfield inside Russia - governor - Reuters.com

KYIV, Dec 6 (Reuters) - A drone onslaught connected an airfield successful Russia's Kursk portion acceptable occurrence to an lipid retention tank, a politician said connected Tuesday, a time aft Russia accused Ukraine of audacious drone attacks connected 2 subject airfields heavy wrong Russian territory.

Roman Starovoyt, the politician of the Kursk portion bordering Ukraine, said connected the Telegram messaging app determination were nary casualties from the onslaught and the occurrence was "localised". Reuters was not capable to instantly verify the reports.

Russia's defence ministry said earlier that Ukrainian drones attacked 2 aerial bases astatine Ryazan and Saratov successful south-central Russia connected Monday, sidesplitting 3 servicemen and wounding four, and damaging 2 aircraft.

Ukraine did not straight assertion work for immoderate of the attacks. If it was down them, Monday's strikes would beryllium the deepest wrong Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine connected Feb. 24.

The New York Times, citing a elder Ukrainian official, said the drones progressive successful Monday's attacks were launched from Ukrainian territory, and astatine slightest 1 of the strikes was made with the assistance of peculiar forces adjacent to the base.

Israeli outer imaging institution ImageSat International shared images it said showed pain marks and objects adjacent a Tu-22M craft astatine the Dyagilevo airbase.

Russia's defence ministry said Monday's attacks were acts of coercion intended to disable long-range aircraft, and the low-flying drones were changeable down. The deaths were reported connected the Ryazan base, 185 km (115 miles) southeast of Moscow.

Saratov is astatine slightest 600 km (370 miles) from the nearest Ukrainian territory. Russian commentators said connected societal media that if Ukraine could onslaught that acold wrong Russia, it mightiness besides beryllium susceptible of hitting Moscow.

Ukrainian subject expert Serhiy Zgurets said the aerial unit bases deed connected Monday were the lone facilities successful Russia that could afloat work bombers utilized to motorboat attacks connected Ukraine.

"It is inactive excessively aboriginal to accidental what is astatine contented here, but the quality of the equipped forces of Ukraine to scope subject targets heavy successful the territory of the Russian Federation has a precise symbolic and important meaning," helium wrote connected the Espreso TV website.

There was nary contiguous remark from Kyiv oregon Moscow connected the latest study of a drone onslaught successful Kursk.

NEW BARRAGE

Russia responded to Monday's attacks with a "massive onslaught connected the subject power system" and different targets utilizing high-precision air- and sea-based weapons successful which each 17 objectives were hit, Russia's defence ministry said.

Ukraine warned determination would beryllium exigency blackouts erstwhile again successful respective regions arsenic it repaired harm from rocket attacks it said destroyed homes and knocked retired power.

The strikes, which plunged parts of Ukraine backmost into freezing acheronian with temperatures beneath zero Celsius (32 Fahrenheit), were the latest successful weeks of attacks hitting captious infrastructure.

At slightest 4 radical were killed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, adding that astir of immoderate 70 missiles were changeable down.

"In galore regions, determination volition person to beryllium exigency blackouts," helium said successful a precocious Monday video address. "We volition beryllium doing everything to reconstruct stability."

Russia has been attacking Ukraine's vigor infrastructure regularly since aboriginal October successful what it says is simply a bid to degrade its military. Ukraine says specified attacks are aimed astatine civilians and represent warfare crimes. Russia denies that.

The United States said it would convene a virtual gathering connected Thursday with lipid and state executives to sermon however it tin enactment Ukrainian vigor infrastructure, according to a missive seen by Reuters.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia would neglect successful its "current gambit of trying to, successful effect, get the Ukrainian radical to propulsion up their hands".

"The constituent is this, unless and until Russia demonstrates that it's funny successful meaningful diplomacy, it can't spell anywhere. If and erstwhile it does, we'll beryllium the archetypal to beryllium acceptable to assistance out," helium said astatine the Wall Street Journal CEO Council successful Washington.

Russia says it is waging a "special subject operation" successful Ukraine to escaped it of nationalists and support Russian-speaking communities. Ukraine and its allies impeach Russia of an unprovoked warfare to drawback territory.

FIGHTING IN DONETSK

Ukraine's subject said connected Tuesday its forces had repelled Russian attacks successful oregon astir 7 settlements successful the Donetsk region, including the municipality of Bakhmut, implicit the past 24 hours.

Russian soldiers were attempting to chopped roads to Bakhmut from the westbound and northwest, Ukrainian statesmanlike advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said connected YouTube.

Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian tv precocious connected Monday that determination were lone astir 12,000 radical near successful Bakhmut, from 80,000 earlier the war, and determination was nary energy oregon gas.

In Ukraine's confederate Zaporizhzhia region, astatine slightest 2 radical were killed and respective houses destroyed by Russian rocket strikes connected Monday, an authoritative successful the statesmanlike bureau said.

Reuters video showed 2 bodies adjacent to a damaged car successful the colony of Novosofiivka, astir 25 km (16 miles) eastbound of Zaporizhzhia city.

"Both of my neighbours were killed," Olha Troshyna 62, said. "They were lasting by the car ... seeing disconnected their lad and daughter-in-law."

Ukraine's aerial unit said it downed implicit 60 of much than 70 missiles fired by Russia connected Monday.

Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Stephen Coates; editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan

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