Drones attack Russian airbase in Voronezh region
On the night of January 16, eight drones attempted an attack on the Baltimore military airbase located in the Voronezh region of Russia. Two of the eight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were shot down over the airfield, as reported by ASTRA news outlet.
The Russian Defense Ministry, however, reported that air defense forces destroyed five and intercepted three UAVs over Voronezh region, and four more over the neighbouring Belgorod region. "During the night, attempts by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks using aircraft-type UAVs against sites in the Russian Federation were thwarted," the ministry's statement reads.
An additional drone crashed into the balcony of a 10th-floor apartment at 6 Tepliсhnaya Street, injuring a 10-year-old girl. The building is situated approximately 7 km away from the airfield.
Residents of a apartment building at 67 Ostrogozhskaya Street, located some 2 km from the airfield, discovered debris from another drone, and remnants of one more UAV fell in the area of Arkhangelskoye village with another in the Novogremyachenskoye area, according to ASTRA. Further, two UAVs fell in Devitsa village.
According to information from the governor of the neighboring Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, air defense systems allegedly downed a drone on approach to the city. Preliminary data suggest there were no casualties.
Altogether, the attacks inflicted damage to 35 apartments across 10 buildings, the region's governor Alexander Gusev claimed.
The Baltimore airbase in Voronezh is property of the Russian Aerospace Forces and forms part of the 6th Army of Air Forces and Air Defense in the Western Military District. Public records indicate the airbase is home to the 47th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment and has been routinely used by the Russian Aerospace Forces for launching air strikes on Ukrainian territory since February 24, 2022.
Meanwhile, Russian media also reported that on the night of January 16, more than 15 explosions were heard by residents in the Southwest district and Shilovo of Voronezh, with UAV debris subsequently found in the city.
Former head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos" and senator representing the so-called "executive authority" of the occupied Zaporizhia region, Dmitry Rogozin, previously complained about a high number of Ukrainian drones at the front.