Russian airport attacked from own territory, Ukraine says

Ukraine's military intelligence said Friday that a recent drone attack on an airport in northwestern Russia that damaged several transport planes was carried out from within Russian territory.

The claim, falling on the first day of the school year, came as President Vladimir Putin told Russian students that their country was "invincible" and police in Kyiv scrambled to respond to bomb threats in schools.

The attack this week on Pskov airport, around 700 kilometres (more than 400 miles) from Ukraine, marked the latest strike on Russian territory since Kyiv vowed in July to "return" the conflict to Moscow.

"The drones used to attack the 'Kresty' air base in Pskov were launched from Russia," Ukraine's intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said on social media Friday.

"Four Russian IL-76 military transport planes were hit as a result of the attack. Two were destroyed and two were seriously damaged," he added.

Budanov said the aircraft had been used by the defence ministry to transport troops and cargo.

The Kremlin said this week that military experts were working to find out which routes the drones were taking in order "to prevent such situations in the future".

Asked about Ukrainian claims on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment and instead deferred questions to the defence ministry.

The region of Pskov, which was also targeted by drones in May, is surrounded by NATO members Estonia and Latvia to its west and Belarus to its south.

Budanov's comments came hours after Russian air defences destroyed a drone approaching Moscow, the city's mayor said, a day after a similar attack on the capital.

Russian media reported that air traffic at Moscow's Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports had...