Russian airfield fire, drone strike reported 300km from Ukraine

Russian military airfield attacked by drones, causing fire and evacuations in Lipetsk region near Ukrainian border.

A fire broke out at a Russian military airfield hundreds of kilometres from the Ukrainian border, state media reported early Friday (August 9, 2024), with authorities ordering evacuations in the area due to a "massive" drone attack.

The attack in Lipetsk region came as pro-Kyiv forces pressed a new cross-border offensive in neighbouring Kursk, in what appears to be the most significant attack on Russian soil since the conflict in Ukraine began.

Official Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti cited the regional emergencies ministry directory in reporting the fire at the Lipetsk airfield, though neither offered a cause.

However, the reports came just hours after regional Governor Igor Artamonov announced on Telegram at around 3:00 a.m. (00:00 GMT) that Lipetsk had "been subjected to a massive UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack".

He later reported explosions "far from civilian buildings" as well as damage to a local power facility.

In a subsequent message, Mr. Artamonov urged residents to ignore calls on social media to leave Lipetsk, saying they were "spread by the enemy in order to sow panic" — only to reverse course less than an hour later.

"To eliminate the consequences of the detonation of explosive objects, a state of emergency is introduced in Lipetsk municipal district," he said in a post at around 4:00 a.m., listing evacuation orders for four settlements on the outskirts of Lipetsk city.