Ukraine Says It Struck Engels Airfield and Oil Depot in Deep Overnight Attacks

Ukraine's military announced on Monday that its air force struck the Engels military airfield in Russia's Saratov region and an oil depot in the Oryol region during overnight operations. Ukrainian authorities said the attack on Engels — about 600 km (370 miles) from the Ukrainian border — would rank among Kyiv's deepest strikes into Russian soil. Russia's defence ministry said it had intercepted 36 Ukrainian drones over several regions overnight, including 20 over Saratov, and reported no casualties or damage at the airbase. Local officials in the Saratov region, however, reported a blaze at an industrial facility following the incidents, and various state and regional Russian outlets described emergency responses. The Engels airfield is home to Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic long-range bombers that Moscow has used to launch missile attacks on Ukraine, giving it heightened symbolic and operational importance. Ukraine said it also struck an oil depot in neighbouring Oryol, continuing a pattern of targeting energy and logistics infrastructure that Kyiv says is key to degrading Russia's capacity to sustain long-range strikes. The strikes come amid an intensification of cross-border operations by both sides. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly pushed Western partners to provide longer-range precision weapons that could allow Kyiv to strike deeper into Russian territory — a request that has been met with caution in some allied capitals concerned about escalation. Kyiv's recent operations targeting bases, airfields and fuel storage are part of a broader campaign to disrupt Russian logistics and reduce the sortie rate of aircraft and cruise missiles used against Ukrainian cities and military targets. Analysts say attacks on high-value bases such as Engels carry both tactical and strategic significance: they can temporarily interrupt bomber deployments and force Moscow to alter basing patterns, but they also raise the risk of broader escalation. Russian officials have condemned cross-border strikes and warned of retaliation, while Western governments have tended to stress de-escalation publicly even as some supply Kyiv with more capable munitions. The balance between helping Ukraine blunt Russian firepower and avoiding a wider confrontation remains a central tension in international deliberations. The overnight strikes underscore the continuing intensity of the war more than three years after Russia's full-scale invasion. Moscow has launched a series of missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent days, while Kyiv's more assertive cross-border campaign signals a willingness to bring the fight deeper into Russian territory to blunt future threats. Independent verification of claims from either side often lags behind battlefield events, and international monitors and media outlets will continue to assess damage, military impact and the political fallout from these latest operations.