The governor of the Saratov region, Roman Busargin, confirmed the drone attack in the region and reported damage to an "industrial facility," without providing details.
Astra* publishes a video of the fire and, citing local residents, reported that the Saratov oil refinery, operated by Rosneft, caught fire. This facility was already attacked at the end of January.
In local public forums, residents of Engels, near which a military airfield is located, also talk about a series of explosions. Bombers that constantly attack Ukrainian territory with cruise missiles take off from there. There are no official reports or comments about Engels yet.
TASS, citing Rosaviation, wrote that temporary flight restrictions were introduced at the airports of Kazan, Kirov, Saratov, and Ulyanovsk.
Massive attacks on Saratov and Engels occurred at the beginning of January. At that time, the oil depot of the Rosrezerv complex, where fuel for the Engels-2 airbase was stored, caught fire. Two employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations fire service died while extinguishing the fire.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported 40 drones shot down and intercepted over Russia. 18 of them over the Saratov region, 14 over the Rostov region, six over the Bryansk region, two over the Volgograd region, and one over the Belgorod region.