Ukraine Says ‘Saboteurs’ Hit Russian Military Planes Near Moscow

Ukraine’s military intelligence service said on Wednesday that "unknown saboteurs" had seriously damaged two planes and a helicopter at a military air base near Moscow. 

The Monday attack at the Chkalovsky Military Air Base struck an electronic reconnaissance plane and a military passenger aircraft, in addition to a helicopter that previously was used to shoot down Ukrainian drones as they approached the Russian capital, Ukraine’s GUR intelligence agency said. 

The GUR suggested that planes in Russia’s strategic nuclear forces were threatened by the raid. There was no immediate Russian comment.

The attack “caused quite a bit of hysteria in the higher military corridors,” the GUR said on its website. “Government planes, so-called ‘doomsday planes’ and special planes (reconnaissance planes) are based at the airfield.”

Monday’s explosions seriously damaged aircraft of the 354th Special Purpose Aviation Regiment, including an AN-148 transport jet and an Il-20 surveillance plane, the GRU said. An MI-28H helicopter was also damaged. A second AN-148 received "minor damage."

The agency released surveillance images that purported to show ground and air surveillance photos of the airfield.