(ANSA-AFP) - BELGRADE, DEC 6 - On December 5, multiple open sources reported explosions at Engels Airbase in Russia's Saratov Oblast and Dyagilyaevo Airfield near Ryazan, south-east of Moscow, according to the most recent UK Ministry of Defence report. Two Tu-95 BEAR heavy bombers were reportedly damaged at Engels, and a fuel tank exploded at Dyagilyaevo, killing three people. The causes of the explosions have yet to be determined.

"However, if Russia assesses the incidents were deliberate attacks, it will probably consider them as some of the most strategically significant failures of force protection since its invasion of Ukraine," the intelligence report reads. "The sites are much deeper inside Russia than previous similar explosions: Engels is over 600km from Ukrainian-controlled territory," the ministry added. (ANSA-AFP).