WarJuly 16, 2026 4:06 am • 2 min readIllustrative image: Satellite imagery from Dec 3 & 4, 2022, of Engels air base, Russia (before reports of explosions at the base), showing recent military activity at & near the airfield which houses a heavy bomber aviation unit, primarily comprised of Tu-95 (Bear) & Tu-60 (Blackjack) bombers. (Maxar Technologies/Twitter)Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated. Russia's Engels-2 air base in Saratov Oblast was reportedly hit by Ukrainian drones overnight on July 16, Russian Telegram media channels reported. Photos and videos posted to social media by local residents purport to show a fire burning in the area of the air base. War monitoring Telegram channels geolocated the fire as emanating from the military installation.Drones were seen flying over the city of Engels amid reports of explosions and wider power outages. Fire were also seen at homes within the city, reportedly caused by the downing of drones.The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify the reports. Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the reported attack. Located in the Saratov Oblast, nearly 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Ukraine's front line, Engels air base – also known as Engels-2 – is home to the 184th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment and 121st Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment. The base hosts strategic Russian bomber planes regularly used for aerial strikes, including the Tupolev Tu-95, the Tupolev Tu-22, and the Tupolev Tu-160, all regularly used to launch missiles at Ukrainian cities.The extent of damage caused, if any, was not immediately clear. Engels has been targeted a number of times since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the first of which occurred on Dec. 5, 2022, when a Ukrainian drone strike reportedly damaged two Tu-95s.Before the latest attack, Engels air base was most recently targeted in June 2025.News FeedThursday, July 164:06 am Russia's Engels-2 air base in Saratov Oblast was reportedly hit by Ukrainian drones overnight on July 16, Russian Telegram media channels reported. 2:58 am "Our naval strategic nuclear forces maintain a state of full combat readiness," Russian Presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview with the state outlet RIA Novosti. 1:31 am Explosions rocked Kyiv shortly before 1 a.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyv City Military Administration, reported that Russia was attacking the city with ballistic missiles. 12:34 am The new measures, adopted based on proposals from Ukraine's National Bank, aim to stop Russia from using modern financial instruments, such as cryptocurrency, to circumvent sanctions and make international payments. Wednesday, July 1512:28 pm (Updated: July 15, 2026 11:48 pm) Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said the president had formally submitted his nomination for Serhii Koretskyi to be the next prime minister of Ukraine. 8:15 pm (Updated: July 15, 2026 11:05 pm) Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has been offered the role of Ukraine's next defense minister, a lawmaker from the governing Servant of the People party told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.10:43 pm10:35 pm The decision appears to have been made at the last minute, according to one official, who said reports of Vitalii Kim's expected appointment caught even his own team off guard.8:52 pm (Updated: July 15, 2026 10:01 pm)War7:58 pm "The election results will have no impact on this escalation, because the results will be known before the election," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.3:17 pm (Updated: July 15, 2026 7:44 pm) The U.S. has begun the process of granting Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot missiles, moving the matter beyond political statements, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent.6:48 pm The 21st sanctions package was supposed to be agreed on on July 15, but two EU officials confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Greece was refusing to compromise on its hardline position against proposals to stop EU countries trading LNG to third countries.2:51 pm (Updated: July 15, 2026 5:46 pm) The EU also announced a 10-billion-euro ($11 billion) funding plan for additional drones, missiles, and fighter aircraft for Ukraine.5:16 pm "There must be no Russian shadow on a banknote honoring the poet whom Russia killed," said Andriy Pyshnyy, governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.Show More