Overnight on 20 March 2025, Ukrainian drones launched a targeted attack on the Engels-2 airbase in Saratov Oblast, Russia. A source from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed to Liga that the attack was conducted by the SBU and the Ukrainian Army’s Special Operation Forces, and resulted in significant explosions, fires, and secondary detonations of munitions at the base.
The SBU source added that the attack successfully disrupted Russian military operations at the airbase, targeting key infrastructure involved in the missile strikes against Ukrainian cities. The source emphasized that the operation was part of a continued effort to reduce Russia’s capacity to carry out missile terror against Ukraine.
According to Liga’s source, Russian air defense systems were ineffective and hit civilian buildings and infrastructure facilities in the cities of Engels and Saratov with missiles.
OSINT analysis of the available footage of the attack by the Telegram channel Cyberboroshno confirmed that the drone strike directly hit a munitions depot at the Engels airbase, which caused the explosions and fires.
The Telegram channel ExileNova+ that shared numerous videos of the fire at the base, claimed that debris from the attack was scattered in a 5-kilometer radius, possibly damaging the bombers stationed there. Referring to unnamed monitoring sources, the channel claimed that three Tu-95MS and two Tu-160 bombers were stationed at the base as of the morning of 19 March, while an Il-76 cargo plane arrived at the base, likely delivering a new batch of Kh-101 missiles.
Saratov Oblast Governor Roman Busargin called the attack “most massive” since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and claimed that debris from a downed drone hit a hospital, injuring two people. Busargin also announced that schools in Engels would switch to online lessons due to the damage caused by the attacks.
Russia’s Defense Ministry stated reported that a total of 132 Ukrainian drones were allegedly intercepted or shot down over various regions, including 54 over Saratov.
Local authorities in Engels responded to the situation by declaring a state of emergency in the district, as reported by the Russian news Telegram channel Astra. This decision followed the explosions and the subsequent damage to civilian infrastructure. Additionally, air traffic was temporarily suspended at the airports in Saratov and Samara following the attack.
Previous attacks on the Engels-2 bomber base’s fuel depot destroyed estimated 800,000 tons of jet fuel, with fires at the facility raging for several days. An earlier attack, reportedly, damaged three strategic bombers.
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