Ukraine says it is a military airstrike inside Russia

Ukraine’s military says it has hit a military airfield in central Russia, destroying warehouses with bombs.

In a statement, the military reported heavy fire and multiple explosions at the Lipetsk airfield, more than 350km (217 miles) from the Ukrainian border, after the overnight strike.

The authorities of Lipetsk region said that a state of emergency is now in place in the area, confirming the detonation at the “energy infrastructure center”. Residents of four nearby villages were being evacuated.

This comes as Ukrainian troops continue a major cross-border offensive in Russia’s western Kursk region, where a state of emergency is in place.

Reports suggest that Ukrainian forces are operating about 10 kilometers into Russian territory – the deepest approach to Kyiv crossing the border since Moscow launched an all-out offensive in February 2022.

The Russian military said up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops, backed by tanks and armored vehicles, entered the Kursk region on Tuesday morning.

It says more than 300 soldiers were killed and wounded – a claim that has not been independently verified.

In a video speech late Thursday, without specifically addressing the alleged military incursion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow must “feel” the consequences of its attack on Ukraine.

“Russia has brought war to our country and it should be aware of what it has done”, he said, without directly referring to the attack on Ukraine.

“The people of Ukraine know how to achieve their goals. And we did not choose to achieve our goals in war,” he added.