A Ukrainian soldier watches a drone feed from an underground command heart in Bakhmut, Donetsk area, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022.

Libkos/AP

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Libkos/AP

A Ukrainian soldier watches a drone feed from an underground command heart in Bakhmut, Donetsk area, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022.

Libkos/AP

KYIV, Ukraine — The Russian army reported on Monday that it shot down a Ukrainian drone approaching an airbase deep inside Russia, the second time the airbase has been focused this month, elevating questions in regards to the effectiveness of Russia’s air defenses if drones can fly that far into the nation.

Russia’s Defense Ministry mentioned the incident happened within the early hours of Monday, and three servicemen have been killed by particles on the Engels airbase that homes the Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers which have been concerned in launching strikes on Ukraine.

Engels is situated in Russia’s Saratov area on the Volga river, greater than 370 miles east of the border with Ukraine.

No harm was inflicted on Russian plane, the ministry mentioned.

It is the second time Engels has been focused by Ukrainian drones; on Dec. 5, unprecedented drone strikes on Engels and the Dyagilevo base in the Ryazan region in western Russia killed a complete of three servicemen and wounded 4 extra. The strikes on the airbases have been adopted by an enormous retaliatory missile barrage in Ukraine that struck properties and buildings and killed civilians.

In Ukraine, the evening from Sunday into Monday appeared unusually quiet. For the primary time in weeks, the Russian forces did not shell the Dnipropetrovsk area, which borders the partially occupied southern areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, its Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko reported on Telegram.

“This is the third quiet night in 5.5 months since the Russians started shelling” the areas across the metropolis of Nikopol, Reznichenko wrote. Nikopol is situated throughout the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant, which is below management of the Russian forces.

Ukrainian-controlled areas of the neighboring Kherson area have been shelled 33 occasions over the previous 24 hours, in line with Kherson’s Ukrainian Gov. Yaroslav Yanushevich. There have been no casualties.

On Saturday, a lethal assault on town of Kherson, which was retaken by Kyiv’s forces final month, killed and wounded scores.