Iran Press/ Europe: Air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv and other cities as Ukraine reported long-range attacks from warships, strategic bombers, and inside of the Russian mainland.
Russian media last night reported explosions at two airbases in mainland Russia, including one that houses nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
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There were explosions at Engels Air Base, located in the Saratov region, and Diaghilev, near the city of Ryazan, and at least three aircraft, two of which are believed to be Tu-95 strategic bombers,, are believed to have been damaged.
It is these machines that launch cruise missiles at Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Three days later, satellite images provided by MAXAR suggest a massive build-up of Russian aircraft at the Engels-2 airport, which lies around 700km from the Ukrainian border inside Russia.
Analysts believed Russia was amassing cruise missiles for an "imminent large-scale attack."
The Russian response was not late. At midday, an air threat alert was signaled in all regions of Ukraine except Crimea.
The media reported explosions in Cherkasy and Odesa.
Around 2 p.m., the head of the Kyiv Military Administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, confirmed that air defense forces were operating in the region.
Also, several explosions were heard in Zaporizhzhia City.
Around 2:00 p.m., military correspondent Andriy Tsaplienko reported that there were already downed missiles by the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces - 4 in Kharkiv Oblast, one each in Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts.
The head of the local military administration, Dmitry Lunin has already confirmed the air defense operation in the Poltava region.
Odesa also comes under Russian shelling with rockets. Cruise missiles also targeted Nikolaev region.
During a television marathon, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said that Russian strategic bombers had taken off. He also warned that the occupiers could launch missiles in several waves to confuse Ukrainian air defenses.
Russia began its large-scale, coordinated attacks on Ukraine's power grid on 10 October. This one comes almost two weeks after the last.
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