Almost as soon as the war in Ukraine began, strange things started to happen in Russia. Buildings connected to the country’s military and its war effort caught fire, saboteurs were suspected – and occasionally caught, according to state TV – and recently, air bases quite far away from Ukraine have started to blow up.
All of this gives the lie to the official Russian claim, from the early days of the war, that this was a special military operation – small in scope, limited in objective – fought between the Russian military and a few fanatics and drug addicts far away. The conflict was in fact a war, as we know – and it is between the armed forces of the Russian Federation, its proxy Wagner Group mercenaries and Iranian allies, and the entire nation of Ukraine.
This week, there have been more long-range attacks on an airbases. Nothing has been unconditionally confirmed, of course, but visual evidence appears to suggest that the Ukrainians have again managed to attack the Engels-2 air base, which was previously attacked on 5 December, where part of Russia’s long-range bomber fleet is quartered.
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