Ukraine Drones Hit Home of Russian Unit Blamed for Bucha Massacre

Overnight strikes on Pskov are reported to have damaged several military transport aircraft and forced the closure of the airport of the western Russian city, which is close to the NATO frontier and home to an elite airborne unit implicated in war crimes against Ukrainian civilians.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR), told Ukrainska Pravda that 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. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by email to request comment.

Pskov—which is an hour's drive from both the Estonian and Latvian borders—is also home to the 76th Guards Air Assault Division, an elite unit and part of the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV), generally considered one of the most professional, best equipped, and more effective arms of Moscow's military.

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, including Bucha.

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."

The 76th is thought to have suffered badly from 18 months of combat. A European defense official told Newsweek in December it is "highly likely the division had heavy losses" in its first six months of engagements.

"We can assess 30 to 40 percent of the troops that deployed to the Ukraine war are wounded, missing or killed," the official—who spoke on condition of anonymity—said. "We assess that in their home base in Pskov and Cherekha mainly conscripts and some contractors/officers are left."

The 76th would be in the vanguard of any future Russian invasion force seeking to cross NATO's eastern frontier. Its airborne troops would likely be tasked with seizing Estonia and the other Baltic states before their NATO allies could come to their aid.

Major General Veiko-Vello Palm, the Estonian Defense Forces division commander, told Newsweek in Tallinn in May that the formation's "main activity" in recent months "is arranging funerals, which is a very good activity for them."

But, Palm added: "The situation that we see right now—basically empty garrisons and no meaningful training—can change in weeks."