Moscow has pledged that Ukraine will “not go unpunished” after drone attacks hit Russian targets, while Kyiv experienced its most intense shelling in months.
The drones caused damage to two military planes, a fuel store, and a microelectronics factory in numerous Russian areas.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials reported that the majority of missiles and drones were shot down, but two persons were killed.
Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the new attacks, but it rarely remarks on strikes inside Russia.
However, in recent weeks, Ukraine is thought to have boosted its use of explosive drones to attack targets in Russia.
This is all part of its counter-offensive strategy, which aims to make it as difficult as possible for Russia to maintain its frontline troops fed while it continues with its onslaught.
According to Russian news agencies, two military planes were hit and burst into flames at a regional airport in Pskov, a western city 600 kilometers (372 miles) from Ukraine.
Mikhail Vedernikov, the regional governor, said he was on the site and released a video on Telegram showing a massive fire and an explosion.
The damaged aircraft, an Ilyushin 76, is a long-range freight plane used to transport troops and equipment across considerable distances. Pskov airport, which was closed to civilian aircraft on Wednesday, is also an important military hub.
They are vital military assets to Russia, making them targets for Ukraine.
It was the second drone attack in Pskov in as many months; another incident occurred in the area in May.
More strikes were reported further south, with the Russian military claiming to have shot down Ukrainian drones in the districts of Bryansk, Kaluga, Oryol, and Ryazan, as well as one near the Crimean city of Sevastopol.
Aleksandr Bogomaz, the regional governor of Bryansk, said one was stopped en route to demolishing a TV tower, while another hit a microelectronics facility where components for Russia’s military systems were manufactured.
Another logistical target involved in keeping Russia’s war machine running was a petroleum facility in Kaluga.
Ukraine’s counter-invasion strategy has been described as “starve, stretch, and strike” by the UK’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
Kyiv expects that by attacking important infrastructure as well as long-range artillery and missile strikes far beyond Russia’s front lines in southern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces would be able to push through those lines and achieve some kind of success by the end of the year.
The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, stated there were 44 Russian strikes in total, including 28 missiles and 16 drone operations. He stated that all but one drone were intercepted.
The two people killed were security guards in the city’s Shevchenkivskiy area, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
On Wednesday, authorities were probing the wreckage of a cruise missile that had been spread throughout a park north-west of the city center.
The air strikes in Russia are the latest in a series of strikes deep within its borders.
According to Russian officials, three individuals were killed in the Belgorod region last week, hours after a drone struck central Moscow.
At the same time, a Russian long-range bomber was destroyed by a Ukrainian drone strike on an airbase south of St. Petersburg.
Attacks on Russian land, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, are a “inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process” as the war with Russia continues.
