Russia’s Saratov airport lifts flight curbs after Ukraine drone attack

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(Reuters) – Russia’s Saratov regional airport lifted flight curbs on Monday imposed after homes were damaged as a result of Ukraine’s drone attack that wounded a woman, Russian officials and news agencies said.

The lifting of the curbs at the Saratov regional airport, at about 9:30 a.m. (0530 GMT), was reported by Russia’s RIA news agency, which had earlier reported the clampdown, citing the airport’s press service.

A residential complex in the city had been damaged by falling debris from drones destroyed by Russia’s air defence systems, regional governor Roman Busargin said on the Telegram messaging app.

“A woman was hospitalised in serious condition,” Busargin said. “Doctors are fighting for her life.”

Russia’s defence ministry said its air defence systems destroyed nine drones over the Saratov region, which lies some 900 kilometres (560 miles) away from the border with Ukraine.

Earlier, Busargin said emergency services had fanned out at affected sites in Saratov and Engels, key cities in the region several hundred kilometres southeast of the capital.

Russia has a strategic bomber military base in Engels that Ukraine has attacked numerous times since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022.

There was no immediate information on damage at the base, or the scale of the Ukrainian attack on the region, which is several hundred kilometres away from the border with Ukraine.

Video posted on Telegram by the Russian news SHOT channel showed what it identified as a high-rise residential building in Saratov, with a damaged side and several windows blown out across three floors.

In Engels, the top floor of a residential building was damaged, it added.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in their attacks, which they say aim to destroy infrastructure key to war efforts. (This story has been refiled to correct the name of the governor to Busargin, not Basurgin, in paragraphs 3, 4 and 6)

(This story has been republished to correct the name of the source from ‘Roman Basurgin’ to ‘Roman Busargin,’ in the photo captions)