Russia relocates strategic bombers to Siberian airbase: Defence Express

He said this on Espreso TV.

"The Russians apparently moved their strategic bombers to a Siberian air base after a powerful explosion at Engels, which sent shattered glass flying as far as 10 kilometers away. An aviation ammunition depot was hit there, and a stockpile of cruise missiles was destroyed. Engels is also a regular site for loading and launching cruise missiles from Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers," Katkov said.

According to the expert, the explosion may have damaged the Engels infrastructure enough that it can’t be used now and is likely under repair. So, Russian forces either started loading missiles at a different base or moved the necessary equipment to do so.

"We’ll only know for sure if the pattern repeats — not just one incident, but several in a row — and when it becomes clear they’ve shifted operations or are partially using other bases instead of Engels," Katkov added.

• On the night of Thursday, March 20, units of Ukraine’s SBU and Special Operations Forces, together with other elements of the Defense Forces, carried out a strike on the Engels airfield in Russia’s Saratov region.