Russian Governor Announces State of Emergency in Engels due to Drone Attack
The governor of Russia’s Saratov region, Roman Bussargin, has announced a state of emergency in the city of Engels, citing the spread of a fire as the reason. The decision was made after a massive drone attack by Ukraine, the official said.
Earlier, the head of the region reported that the cities of Saratov and Engels were targeted by a significant number of Ukrainian drones in the early hours of Wednesday. Debris from the downed drones reportedly fell on an industrial facility in Engels, with videos circulating on Telegram showing the aftermath of the attack.
The governor also confirmed that two firefighters lost their lives in the battle to contain the blaze, and a third was hospitalized.
Specialists from the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights and Human Well-being (Rospotrebnadsor) took air samples in the affected area throughout the day, with no excessive pollution detected, according to the governor. He also assured that the fire poses no threat to residential buildings and promised to continue posting updates on his Telegram channel.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that 32 Ukrainian drones were shot down and destroyed last night, with 11 of them in the Saratov region.
Saratov region is located in the south-east of European Russia, bordering Kazakhstan.