Russian air defences shot down drones in the south-western Russian region of Saratov in the early hours of Wednesday over the city of Engels, according to regional authorities.

Governor Roman Busargin said on Telegram that, according to initial findings, there were no casualties or damage from falling debris in the city.

The attack occurred at Engels, a city of 200,000 more than 500km from the border with Ukraine.

Russia had already shot down drones several times in the Saratov region, where the Engels-2 military airfield is located.

Russia had stationed strategic bombers here for missile attacks on Ukraine.

It was not initially possible to independently verify whether all drones were actually repelled on approach.

The Russian side, which had been waging a war against the neighbouring country for more than two years now, often only reports supposed successes of its own air defence in the face of Ukrainian drone attacks.

In its defence against the Russian invasion, Ukraine also repeatedly attacks Russian territory both in border regions and in the hinterland. 

(dpa/NAN)