Russia’s Saratov airport lifts flight restrictions after drone attack by Ukraine

(Reuters) – Russia’s Saratov regional airport on Monday lifted flight restrictions imposed after a Ukrainian drone strike damaged several houses and injured a woman, Russian officials and news agencies said.

The lifting of restrictions at Saratov Regional Airport at around 9:30 a.m. (05:30 GMT) was reported by Russian news agency RIA, which had previously reported on the measures, citing the airport’s press office.

A residential complex in the city was damaged by falling debris from drones that were destroyed by Russian air defense systems, regional governor Roman Busargin said via the messaging app Telegram.

“A woman was hospitalized in serious condition,” said Busargin. “Doctors are fighting for her life.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defense systems had destroyed nine drones over the Saratov region, which is about 900 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

Busargin had previously stated that rescue workers had been dispatched to the affected areas in Saratov and Engels, important cities in the region several hundred kilometers southeast of the capital.

Russia operates a strategic bomber base in Engels, which Ukraine has attacked several times since Moscow’s large-scale invasion in February 2022.

There was no immediate information on the damage to the base or the extent of the Ukrainian attack on the region, several hundred kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

A video posted on Telegram by Russian news channel SHOT showed a high-rise residential building in Saratov with one side damaged and several windows blown out on three floors.

In Engels, the top floor of a residential building was damaged, it was further reported.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Both sides deny that their attacks targeted civilians, saying they are aimed at destroying infrastructure vital to the war effort. (This article has been refiled to correct the governor’s name in paragraphs 3, 4 and 6 to Busargin, not Basurgin.)

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Miral Fahmy and Clarence Fernandez)