The city of Pskov, close to NATO frontiers, is home to an elite airborne unit involved in some of the heaviest fighting and worst abuses of the war.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence , toldthat the drone strikes destroyed four Il-76 aircraft and damaged two more. Russia's Tass state media outlet reported four damaged Il-76s and no casualties. The airport has been closed to civilian aircraft until Thursday, according to regional governor Mikhail Vedernikov.
Russian outlet Meduza reported that the 334th Transport Aviation Regiment, which possesses Il-76 aircraft, is based at Pskov's airport. The Il-76, which has the NATO-reporting name"Candid," forms the backbone of Russia's military air transport capabilities.
Russian paratroopers of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division are pictured on parade in Pskov, Russia on March 1, 2020. The unit has been involved in some of the heaviest fighting, and worst abuses, of the war.The 76th was at the forefront of the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with different elements of the unit reportedly involved in fighting north of Kyiv, in Kharkiv Oblast near the city of Izyum, and in the eastern Luhansk Oblast around Popasna.
Some of the 76th's units serving in the northern invasion force attacking from Belarus were implicated in torture, abductions, and murder of civilians in occupied towns,Troops reporting to commanders Major General Sergei Chubarykin and Colonel General Alexander Chaiko were linked to well-documented"cleansing operations" in Bucha, as described by The Associated Press.
An AP report published in October 2022 cited a phone call between one soldier in the group—named only as Vadim—and his mother on March 21, in which the former said:"We have the order: It does not matter whether they're civilians or not. Kill everyone."
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