Ukrainian drones struck Bryansk International Airport in Russia overnight on June 6, destroying one combat helicopter and damaging another, according to Russian emergency officials cited by independent media outlet Astra.

The attack was part of a broader Ukrainian operation targeting multiple Russian airfields and military facilities the same evening.

According to Astra's sources within Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry, the attack destroyed a Mi-8 helicopter after its onboard munitions detonated. A second aircraft, a Mi-35 helicopter gunship, was also damaged, though the extent of the damage remains unclear.

The strike reportedly caused additional destruction to airport infrastructure and rescue facilities, but no casualties were reported. Sources within Ukraine's special services confirmed to Astra that Bryansk airport was among the intended targets of the attack.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.  

The Mi-8 is a multipurpose utility aircraft used for troop transport, reconnaissance, and close air support. The Mi-35 is a heavily armed assault helicopter derived from the Soviet-era Mi-24, with dual capability for offensive operations and personnel transport.

Both aircraft types are actively used by Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Hours before Russia launched one of the largest aerial assaults of the war, Ukrainian forces hit strategic bomber bases at Engels and Dyagilevo, along with logistical hubs in Kursk Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported.

At the Engels-2 air base in Saratov Oblast, located roughly 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Ukraine's front lines, Ukrainian strikes ignited fires at three fuel tanks, causing large-scale explosions.

The Dyagilevo airfield in Ryazan Oblast, home to refueling tankers and fighter escorts for Russia's long-range bomber fleet, was also targeted. Fires and explosions were reported in the vicinity, and Russian air defenses were activated in the region.

Ukraine's expanded drone campaign reflects a growing capacity to strike deep into Russian territory, as Kyiv continues to target the infrastructure Moscow uses to sustain its air war.

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The overnight strikes come just days after the launch of Operation Spiderweb on June 1, in which Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) struck four air bases across Russia and reportedly damaged 41 bomber aircraft.

That operation alone caused over $7 billion in damage and marked a major escalation in Ukraine's ability to project force across the border, according to SBU.

Russia responded to the latest round of Ukrainian strikes by unleashing 452 drones and 45 missiles against cities across Ukraine, killing at least five people and injuring 73 in one of the heaviest barrages of the full-scale invasion.

UPDATE: Russia hits Ukraine with large-scale attack days after Operation Spiderweb

At least four people in Kyiv were killed in the attack, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported. Casualties and damage have also been reported in the western Ukrainian cities of Ternopil and Lutsk.

The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova

At least seven people were killed and dozens more injured after two bridges collapsed in Bryansk and Kursk oblasts overnight on 1 June, striking passenger and freight train routes and raising questions over infrastructure failures or sabotage. Russian law enforcement initially attributed the incidents to Ukrainian sabotage, but later removed the claim.

Train hit by collapsing highway bridge in Bryansk

According to the governor of Russia’s Bryansk Oblast, Alexander Bogomaz, a highway bridge on the federal A240 route allegedly collapsed onto a moving passenger train near the settlement of Vygonichi. The train was operating on the Moscow–Klimovo line. Regional sources, including Telegram channels such as Astra and Baza, reported that a freight truck was crossing the bridge at the moment of the collapse.

Bogomaz confirmed the incident involved both vehicles and a passenger train. Moscow Railway stated that the train derailment resulted from the collapse of the bridge, which occurred due to “illegal interference in transport operations.” The Russian Investigative Committee later reported the bridge had been blown up at 22:50 local time.

Astra published photos and videos of the aftermath.

As of the morning of 1 June, Russian reports indicated at least seven alleged fatalities and 66 injured individuals in the Bryansk collapse, with 47 hospitalized.

Freight locomotive derailed in Kursk after second bridge collapse

In Kursk Oblast’s Zheleznogorsky district, another collapse occurred on a railway bridge during the movement of a freight train. Acting governor Alexander Khinshtein reported that part of the train allegedly fell onto the highway running below the bridge. A fire broke out on the locomotive, and one crew member was reportedly injured.

The Investigative Committee of Russia, launched investigations into both incidents on terrorism-related charges.

Astra shared visuals showing the destruction at the 48th kilometer of the Trosna–Kalinovka road, confirming the scale of the incident.

Unconfirmed third incident

Telegram channels SHOT and 112 reported another incident in Bryansk Oblast, claiming that railway tracks were blown up near the settlement of Unecha on 1 June as a track inspection train was passing. Governor Bogomaz later stated that as of 10:52, railway workers discovered track damage in the Unecha–Zhecha section during an infrastructure inspection, with no casualties reported.

Previous Russian infrastructure collapses noted by Ukrainian Stratcom

Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communication listed prior incidents of Russian bridge failures, pointing to chronic infrastructure decay and mismanagement. These include:

• April 2024 – Vyazma, Smolensk Oblast: Paninsky overpass collapse killed one and injured five.
• October 2023 – Buryatia: A railway bridge over the Dzhida River collapsed due to rainfall and neglect.
• July 2022 – Zabaykalsky Krai: Bridge on the Chita–Khabarovsk highway fell due to erosion and neglect.
• November 2020 – Primorsky Krai: A bridge collapsed under a truck near Vladivostok.
• July 2018 – Nizhny Novgorod: A pedestrian bridge collapsed during a festival.
• May 2015 – Krasnoyarsk Krai: Logging truck caused a collapse near Kansk.

Stratcom concluded:

“Corruption and decay are Russia’s problems, not Ukraine.”

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

At least seven people are dead and another 69 injured after a train derailed in Russia's Bryansk Oblast overnight on May 31, following the collapse of an overhead road bridge, Bryansk Oblast Governor Alexander Bogomaz said.

At least three children have been injured in the derailment, with one being treated in hospital with serious injuries. The conductor of the train has been killed in the incident, Russian-state media outlet TASS reported.

A total of 44 people were hospitalized as a result of the derailment, officials said.

Photos and videos posted on social media appears to show damage sustained to the train after an impact with the bridge. Russian Telegram channel ASTRA reported that a total of 379 people were on board the train at the time of derailment, around 10:45 p.m. local time.

Preliminary reports suggest that explosions were heard in the Vygonichsky district of Bryansk Oblast ahead of the impact, and Moscow Railways, a subsidiary of state-run Russian Railways, claimed that the bridge collapsed due to the "unlawful interference in transport operations."

No further information was provided as to the cause of the bridge collapse, and the full extent of the damage was not immediately clear.

The Kyiv Independent cannot verify claims made by Russian authorities. Kyiv has not commented on the reported derailment.

The passenger train, numbered 86, reportedly runs from the town of Klimovo in Bryansk Oblast to the Russian capital of Moscow.

Bryansk Oblast, located in Russia's far-west, borders Ukraine's Chernihiv and Sumy Oblast, and has been the target of various Ukrainian strikes.

Ukraine's intelligence agencies as well as Ukrainian partisan movements have previously been involved in sabotage attacks on Russian railways, disrupting the transport of military cargo toward the front line. There is no immediate indication either was involved in the train's derailment.

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The Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima