At a time when the war has - seemingly irreparably - separated Ukrainian and Russian culture, firing missiles at the hometown of Anton Chekhov, the most important Russian playwright, should not carry more gravity for the armed forces of Ukraine. Especially if in this very city, Taganrog, there is an air base.
Russia yesterday accused the "regime of Ukraine" of a "terrorist attack against residential infrastructure in Taganrog". Around four o'clock yesterday afternoon, a missile was shot down by the Russian anti-aircraft defense, its remains fell in the center of the city, and caused a dozen shrapnel injuries, ten of whom were admitted to the hospital in moderate condition and one of them, intervened for a cranioencephalic trauma.
The largest of the missile fragments made a five-meter-diameter crater in the parking area of the Art Museum, in the interior of the island, also affecting the Chekhov's Garden cafe and the stained glass windows of the state bank "The wall of the museum, the roof, the garages and other outbuildings were destroyed," said the governor of the Rostov region, Vasili Golubev, according to local media 161.ru.
An hour later, and according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, another Ukrainian missile was shot down, this time near the city of Azov, and the remains would have fallen in a depopulated area, although in the town of Sambek, in Neklinovski district, a metal object went through the roof of a house. The authorities of the Rostov region yesterday activated the anti-aircraft alert through the media in anticipation of further attacks.
Taganrog, with about 250,000 inhabitants, is a port city on the Sea of Azov, and this last city, with the same name, is about 40 kilometers on the opposite bank, very close to the city of Rostov-on-Don, center of Russian military operations in Ukraine.
Taganrog is about 150 kilometers from the Donbass front line and, according to Russian media, the missile or missiles could have come from the nearest point under Ukrainian control, Vuhledar, one of the important centers in the current counter-offensive. In both cases, according to the Russian ministry, they were S-200 anti-aircraft missiles (of Soviet origin) modified for ground attack. Their target was probably the Taganrog Air Base, just 10 kilometers from the city.
It is a base originally intended for large transport aircraft, but it also houses important repair shops even for combat aircraft.
According to specialized media, aircraft sent to Belarus at the beginning of the invasion would have been transferred to this airfield, although according to the independent Russian media Important stories, it would now also host some Bériev A-50 early warning and control aircraft, Tupolev Tu-95 heavy bombers, combat helicopters and drones.
The incursion of missiles on Russia's southern border confirms that Kyiv does not limit itself to incursions into the northern border regions, especially that of Belgorod, which is a regular object of bombing.
During the early hours of yesterday morning, the mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, reported the downing of a Ukrainian drone over the region of the capital during the night, in what would be the second attack of this nature this week .
On Monday, two such drones were shot down in Moscow by electronic means, with the remains of one falling two kilometers from a Ministry of Defense facility and others in a building in offices This time, Ukraine took responsibility for the attack.
