OAN Staff Brook Mallory
5:32pm – Thursday, March 20, 2025
According to Russian and Ukrainian officials, Ukraine attacked Russia's major strategic bomber airfields on Thursday, about 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the frontline of the war, sparking a massive explosion and a major fire.
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However, in Ukraine, three people were injured in a retaliatory “massive drone strike” by Russian troops at Odesa's Black Sea port on Thursday, according to the regional governor.
Ole Kiper, governor of Odesa Oblast, claimed that three sections of Ukrainian cities had no electricity and that the strikes lit fires in three different regions.
Political analysts say that now it appears that no one will reach or be traced to the expected US-backed ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia, and if that were the case, peace will not occur as quickly as President Donald Trump and other world leaders would have hoped.
In Russia, Reuters-verified footage showed a massive explosion erupting from the airfield, destroying nearby homes. Additional footage reveals a massive fire and smoke plume rising into the early sky. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, despite the hit, 132 Ukrainian drones were still being fired down by air defense through Russian territory.
The Soviet-era Engels base is home to the heavy, nuclear-responsive strategic bomber of the Russian Tupolev TU-160, and is also informally known as the “white swan.”
Saratov's governor, Rome Bastargin, reported that residents of the area were evacuated after a Ukrainian drone attack on the city of Engels stood out and burned. The Engels facility is the main runway in the area, but he did not mention it, Reuters It has been reported.
Nevertheless, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said its forces actually hit the airfield, urging the ammunition to explode. Kiev also claimed that Russia had attacked them earlier while using Engels' facility.
Russian authorities claimed that the attack had injured at least 10 people. Surprised locals also explained that they would find fragments of Ukrainian drone in the lawn. Ukraine used liutyi and PD-2 drones in the attack.
Maxim Leonoff, head of the Engels district, announced that a local emergency had been declared, but he provided little detail.
Engels Air Force Base has been the target of continuous Ukraine attacks since December 2022, just as Odessa is a target of Russia's regular Ukraine target.
Meanwhile, X's responsive social media users were caught up in a conversation, talking about an ongoing conflict.
“Why Russia agrees to a ceasefire when it is winning, and Zelensky continues to create a 'red line' statement that Russia needs to leave Crimea and Donbas before peace can be achieved.
“Russia is so evil, we just need to leave Ukraine alone.
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