The explosions at two Russian air bases on Monday drew attention to Ukraine's efforts to develop longer-range combat drones.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the attacks were carried out by Ukrainian drones that were shot down by Russian air defences. Satellite and photographic imagery show that Russian military planes were damaged at a base in the Ryazan region.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has made no official comment on the explosions, and the Ukrainian government has not admitted to stockpiling long-range attack drones.
However, Ukroboronprom, the state-owned weapons manufacturer, has indicated several times in recent weeks that it is nearing completion of work on a new long-range drone.
It posted on Facebook in October, along with an image of what appeared to be a part of the drone's structure, "Range is 1000 km (621 miles), combat unit weight is 75 kg" (165 pounds). "I'm putting the finishing touches on this one."
On November 24, Ukroboronprom published another post: "The next stage of UAV testing - On behalf of the Chief of the General Staff, we are preparing for flight tests under electronic warfare action."
"On the one hand, weather becomes a problem, but on the other hand, it serves as an additional test for the complex." "It's like a crash test."
A photo showed the words "az vozdam" (I will repay) inscribed on what appeared to be the drone.
On Saturday, company spokeswoman Natalia Sad was quoted by Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform as saying that "a number of stages of successful tests have been completed."
"We are moving to the stage of tests involving an e-warfare jamming environment in accordance with the instructions of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," she added.
However, there is no public evidence that the drone in question has been prepared for deployment or was involved in the explosions that occurred inside Russia on Monday morning.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the two bases hit are hundreds of miles inside Russian territory and beyond the reach of Ukraine's declared drone arsenal. There has been no publication of footage or images of drone wreckage.
CCTV footage from the western Russian city of Engels, about 500 miles (more than 800 kilometres) southeast of Moscow, appeared to show an explosion lighting up the sky around 6 a.m. local time on Monday.
Engels-2 airfield, a strategic bomber airbase located approximately 3.7 miles (nearly 6 kilometres) from where the CCTV footage was recorded, is located in the port city.
On Telegram, Saratov region Governor Roman Busargin reassured residents that no civilian infrastructure had been damaged, but that "information about incidents at military facilities is being checked by law enforcement agencies."
He acknowledged that information about "a loud bang and a burst in Engels early in the morning" was spreading on social media and in the media.
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