The British Defense Ministry reports this on Twitter.
British intelligence notes that on December 5, numerous open sources reported explosions at the Engels air base in the Saratov region of Russia and Diagilevo airfield near Ryazan.
Two Tu-95 heavy bombers were reportedly damaged in Engels, while three people died in a fuel tank explosion in Diagilevo.
British analysts note that for Russia, these attacks are among the most strategically significant defense failures since the Russian-Ukrainian war. These military installations are located much deeper in the rear of Russia than those that were hit earlier. So, Engels is located at a distance of more than 600 km from the territory controlled by Ukraine.
It is the main operational base of Russian long-range aviation in the west of Russia, where more than 30 heavy bombers are based. These aircraft can carry nuclear warheads and were also often used to launch conventional cruise missiles at Ukraine.
"The LRA is likely to respond by temporarily moving bombers to dispersal airfields. The Russian chain of command will probably seek to identify and impose severe sanctions on Russian officers deemed responsible for allowing the incident," the British intelligence service suggested.