Ukraine Takes Counter-Offensive to Russian Soil

Explosions have reportedly been heard near a military airbase used by Moscow's forces close to the Ukrainian border, in an incident that follows reports of drones over Russian soil.

Ukrainian Internal Affairs Adviser Anton Gerashchenko tweeted an image of what he said was the aftermath of the explosions near Yeysk Airbase in the Krasnodar region, located around 80 miles from the frontline in Ukraine.

"Aircraft carrying rockets to strike Ukraine is located at that airfield, " he tweeted, "active day in Russia."

However, the district's local administration of the Yeysk district denied there was a fire near the airport, with regional head Roman Bublik calling such reports "a provocation," according to Russian news agency RIA.

Bublik said that planned military-tactical exercises were being held in the region, and rejected social media reports that residents had been evacuated.

However, it comes amid accusations by Russia's defense ministry that Ukraine has been using drones to target infrastructure inside Russia.

On Monday, a fire broke out at an oil depot in Russia's southern city of Tuapse, following reports of two explosions, according to the city administration. The fire broke out in the outbuilding of the depot next to military barracks and owned by Russian oil company Rosneft. The same night an "unidentified aircraft" crashed in the Russian Republic of Adygea about 100 miles away, the republic's head Murat Kumpilov said.

Also, the wreckage of three unmanned aerial vehicles was found in Belgorod, Russia, the city's mayor Valentin Demidov said on Monday, although no injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, a drone crashed near the village of Gubastovo, in the Moscow region, around 400 miles from the border with Ukraine, regional governor Andrey Vorobyov said on Tuesday. The drone was reportedly found next to the Voskresensk gas compressor station which is owned by Russia's energy giant Gazprom.

The governors of the Kursk and Belgorod regions bordering Ukraine have repeatedly accused the Ukrainian armed forces of shelling over the border.

However, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, has denied that Ukraine mounts attacks within Russian territory, tweeting that Kyiv "is waging a defensive war to de-occupy all its territories. This is an axiom."

He wrote that "panic and disintegration" are growing in Russia "reflected by an increase in internal attacks on infrastructure facilities by unidentified flying objects."

But when asked about Porolyak's denials of Ukrainian strikes on targets in Russian territory, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, "we don't believe them," news agency Tass reported. Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment.