SOLTSY, Russia -- On August 19, the airfield at Soltsy, some 190 kilometers south of St. Petersburg, was attacked by what Russian authorities say was a drone.
Images showed one of Russia's supersonic Tu-22M bombers engulfed in flames after the attack, a significant loss for Russia inflicted deep inside its own territory.
When a correspondent from RFE/RL's North.Realities visited shortly after the attack, some inhabitants of Soltsy said they considered the area a legitimate target of the Ukrainian military, others said they feared the Russian authorities more than attack drones.
Entering Soltsy is possible, but there is only one road -- you won't slip in unnoticed.
It's a neat and quiet settlement of low-rise buildings with ample greenery and flowers. Everywhere, posters advertise military contract service.
The airfield is located around 2 kilometers from Soltsy township but the military aviation site is now heavily guarded after the August 19 attack.
Aleksei, a 65-year-old local plumber, heard the drone attack on August 19 but said, "I wasn't afraid, I'm a former military man myself." He appears to blame Ukraine for the strike that destroyed at least one bomber. "There's a military base here, an airfield, it was logical that this was a legitimate target for them."
When asked if it came as a shock to experience kinetic warfare so far from the front lines, he responded, "It's no surprise," while adding that "There is no 'rear,' we're all on the front."
The gates to the town's military base are open and unguarded. The base looks like a civilian area, except for mock-ups of bombs that German aircraft dropped on the Novgorod region during World War II.
The unit has a museum dedicated to the garrison. Its elderly caretaker, Viktor Pristupa, is there every weekday.
The museum features recreations of dugouts as well as restored World War II-era rifles. On the walls of the museum, quotes from Russian President Vladimir Putin are displayed alongside words from Soviet leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Josef Stalin. The only display referencing Russia's current conflict is the label from a tin of liver pate featuring the letters "Z" and "V" that someone donated.
"They haven't flown any combat runs from this airfield for a long time," Pristupa said, "Recently there were training flights. But after the explosion [of the apparent drone], they won't continue either."
The museum caretaker believes that new attacks may come, but says it is impossible to prepare for them.
"What can we do?" he asked rhetorically, "just look up at the sky."
Back in the town, a pensioner is outside having a cigarette. "It's a nervous time now, no one will talk to you," he warned. "The security forces are more vigilant than ever, the FSB is everywhere. I won't say anything either. I'm already 70, but I don't want to go to prison."
Even for locals, he says, it's risky "just discussing what's going on." The man refuses to give his name and suggests we leave town.
On the street we meet Viktoria, with a 6-month-old baby in her stroller. She recalls the day the drone arrived. "My son started crying, I didn't understand why," she said.
"There was a loud sound like some sort of exhaust, it's hard to explain. The sound that powerful cars make when they start up in movies like Fast And Furious. Then half an hour later I saw smoke out the window. It must have been that plane burning. Well, what are we supposed to do? Now the wreckage has been removed, and other things are being taken away all the time with noisy trucks that pump out exhaust fumes," Viktoria said.
The 37-year-old admits that she is more afraid of state security officers than Ukrainian drones.
A group of pensioners are sitting on a bench discussing the drone strike. At the sight of a stranger, they fall silent, but not for long. The elderly women call for retribution.
"So, what happens next? They attacked us, and that's it? Where's the response? How much have we been told about these 'red lines?' Now every one of them has already been crossed, and nothing? Who will avenge us?
"We need to bomb them so that they won't even consider [attacking Soltsy], but only be afraid," one woman called Svetlana Lvovna said.
The others agree.
