KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine said Sunday its forces shot down a state-of-the-art Russian military plane stationed at an air base about 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the front line, after Western allies gave Kiev the go-ahead to use the weapon for limited attacks inside Russia.
Kiev's main military intelligence agency released satellite images showing the aftermath of the attack, which if confirmed would mark Ukraine's first successful attack on Moscow's twin-engine Su-57 stealth fighter jets, hailed as the most advanced military aircraft in the world.
One photo shows black soot stains and small craters dotted on the concrete strip around the parked aircraft. Ukraine's Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate said the attack took place on Saturday at the Akhtubinsk base in southern Russia, about 589 kilometers (360 miles) from the front line.
It was not immediately clear what weapon was used, but the airfield's distance from Ukraine made it likely that it was a drone attack.
The attack came after the United States and Germany recently gave Ukraine permission to attack several targets on Russian territory with long-range weapons they are supplying to Kiev. Ukraine, under newly approved guidelines by President Joe Biden, is only allowed to use U.S. weapons for the limited purpose of defending Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, and has already used U.S. weapons to attack inside Russia.
Ukrainian news agencies said the aircraft, capable of delivering stealth missiles from hundreds of kilometers away, was one of “the few” of its kind in Moscow's arsenal. Russian news agencies reported that Moscow's military acquired “more than 10” new Su-57s last year, with 76 due to be produced by 2028.
Moscow did not immediately comment on the reports. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that its forces had shot down three Ukrainian drones in Astrakhan Oblast, home to the Akhtubinsk airfield.
Since Moscow's full-scale invasion more than two years ago, Kiev has expanded its domestic drone production and has used them for attacks deep inside Russian territory, including on a gas terminal near St. Petersburg, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) north of the Ukrainian border.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are continuing to launch drone attacks on Russia's southern border, according to local Russian officials.
Three drones struck the Belgorod region late Saturday, damaging power lines and blowing out windows but causing no casualties, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. The Russian Defense Ministry said another drone was shot down over the nearby Bryansk region.
At least three civilians were killed and at least nine wounded in Russian artillery fire in Ukraine's frontline areas on Saturday and overnight, regional authorities reported. One man was killed and two women were wounded in the village of Khotymura in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, where shelling damaged a local school, parliament building and shops, Governor Ole Shnievbov said.
Heavy fighting continues in the region as Ukrainian forces try to repel Russian invaders after weeks of a Moscow offensive sparked fears in Kharkiv and led to civilian displacement.
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