Kyiv: Ukraine launched a barrage of drones towards Russia, igniting a fuel depot, officials reported, amidst mutual accusations of deadly attacks on civilians from both sides.
According to the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Ukrainian cross-border assaults resulted in at least three deaths, while a Russian strike claimed two lives in northeast Ukraine.
A source in Ukraine’s defense sector informed AFP that Kyiv targeted eight Russian regions in the “large-scale” drone attack, focusing on “energy infrastructure that fuels Russia’s military-industrial complex.”
The attack, described as a “joint operation” involving Ukraine’s SBU security service, army, and military intelligence, hit three electrical substations and a fuel storage base, causing fires, the source added.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed to have intercepted 50 Ukrainian drones overnight, some were detected hundreds of kilometers from the border, including near Moscow.
Social media footage purportedly showed a significant blaze at a fuel depot in Russia’s Smolensk region, confirmed by the governor to be caused by drones.
Kyiv’s recent strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities are part of what it terms “fair” retaliation against infrastructure supporting Russia’s war efforts.
In Ukraine’s Belgorod border region, two civilians died in drone strikes, according to the governor, while later shelling claimed the life of a pregnant woman in Novaya Tavolzhanka village.
In Ukraine’s northeast city of Vovchansk, Russia allegedly targeted residential buildings, resulting in two deaths and two injuries. Ukraine’s air force reported at least seven missiles fired, with two intercepted.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plea to NATO for urgent aid comes amidst mounting pressure, with Ukraine urging for additional air defenses to counter deadly attacks on civilian infrastructure.
