• Ukraine said a recent attack on Russia's Engels-2 air base destroyed 96 cruise missiles.
• Satellite images show blackened craters.
• Russia has used the air base to launch regular bomber attacks on Ukraine.

Ukraine's armed forces said that a recent attack on one of Russia's key military air bases caused a stockpile of 96 air-launched cruise missiles to explode.

Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces said Thursday that the missiles were destroyed as the result of a secondary explosion. It's unclear if any aircraft were hit.

Images of a massive plume of flame and smoke went viral last week after the attack on Russia's Engels-2 military air base, in the Saratov region, which is used by Russia to launch Tu-95 and Tu-160 bomber attacks on Ukraine.

The missiles had been intended for use in three upcoming operations, Ukraine said.

It added that further strikes took out large fuel reserves intended for the aircraft.

Business Insider was unable to independently confirm the statement.

Taking out 96 cruise missiles would be an impressive achievement. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that Russia's air-launched cruise missiles, depending on their type, cost between $500,000 and $1 million each.

Before-and-after satellite images of Engels-2 showed large, blackened craters and damaged bunkers as of March 21.

The region's governor, Roman Busargin, said the strike was the largest to date in the region.

While Russian authorities typically do not give out numbers of strikes, Busargin said that 54 Ukrainian drones had been shot down in the attack.

The March 20 strike, around 450 miles away from unoccupied Ukrainian territory, comes as part of Kyiv's campaign to degrade the Russian military and energy infrastructure that fuels the war effort.

It was the latest in a string of attacks that targeted the base.

In January, Ukraine said it had conducted its "largest ever" attack on Russian military facilities, hitting an oil storage facility for refueling the planes at Engels-2 in the process. That was its second attack on Engels in a week.

More recently, a likely drone attack set ablaze the Kavkazskaya oil pumping station in Russia's Krasnodar Krai for a full week, putting it out of action for the foreseeable future.

Ukraine said that the strike on Engels-2 took out a chunk of Russian firepower, but military analysts have long warned that, despite sanctions, Russia has few barriers when it comes to resupplying itself with missiles.

Analysis of Russian cruise missile strikes show that Moscow has launched up to 223 missiles a month against Ukrainian targets since late 2022.

• Ukraine said it hit Russia's Engels-2 air base, causing fires and explosions.
• Engels-2 is a key Russian base used for launching bomber attacks on Ukraine.
• While Ukraine attacked the military base, Russia bombed a Ukrainian city overnight.

Ukraine claimed responsibility for a major attack that set a blaze at a key Russian air base overnight on Wednesday.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Thursday that its special forces had caused the detonation of an ammunition store at the Engels-2 air base in Russia's Saratova region, resulting in fires and explosions.

Engels-2, which sits about 450 miles from unoccupied Ukraine, is a key air base from which Russia has launched devastating attacks on Ukraine using its fleet of Tu-95 and Tu-160 bomber aircraft.

It's unclear if any planes were damaged in the attack.

Ukraine's General Staff didn't say what weapons were used, but the region's governor, Roman Busargin, said that Russian forces had shot down 54 drones.

He called it the largest attack on the area since 2022. Russian authorities do not generally report on strikes.

Busargin said in a Telegram post Thursday that a state of emergency had been declared, and that civilians had been evacuated from areas around the base.

Russian opposition media channel Astra shared images and video of a massive plume of smoke and reported multiple explosions.

The blasts knocked windows out of two kindergartens, a school, and a local hospital, injuring one woman, Busargin said.

Business Insider could not independently verify the reports.

Ukraine's attack on the base came amid a wider barrage, with Russia's Ministry of Defence claiming to have shot down 134 drones overnight across six regions.

It was also the third attack on Engels-2 this year.

In January, Ukraine's 14th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Regiment claimed responsibility for what it described at the time as its largest-ever attack on a Russian military facility, targeting an oil storage facility supplying fuel for the planes.

The base has taken extensive measures to try to protect the aircraft, including piling tires onto them in an apparent attempt to fool Ukrainian missiles.

In 2023, Russia relocated some of its bombers farther east, to avoid Ukrainian attacks.

Ukraine's General Staff said Thursday that it used detailed planning to avoid civilian casualties.

Russia also sent more than 200 attack drones and other missiles against central Ukraine overnight Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

More than 30 explosions were heard in Kropyvnytskyi, a city in Kirovohrad Oblast, the regional governor told broadcaster Suspilne.

Police said that 10 people were injured in the attacks.