Ukrainian drone attacks hit multiple Russian regions, causing casualties and power outages

Meduza.io

Russian air defenses shot down or intercepted 48 Ukrainian drones across five regions overnight, the country’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

According to the ministry, 26 drones were downed in the Rostov region, 12 in the Kursk region, six in the Belgorod region, three in the Oryol region, and one in the Lipetsk region.

In the Rostov region, one civilian was killed when a drone crashed into a residential building in the village of Dolotinka, Governor Yury Slyusar reported. In the town of Azov, a drone strike damaged an apartment building, causing its roof to collapse and prompting the evacuation of about 120 people. Debris from another drone reportedly fell on Azov’s Lakomov Stadium. In the town of Shakhty, around 6,000 residents lost power after a drone attack.

The Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported that the strike in Azov targeted the Azov Optical and Mechanical Plant.

In the Belgorod region, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, an apartment building was hit in the village of Oktyabrsky, injuring a civilian. Another drone reportedly struck a “social facility” in the village of Bessonovka, wounding an employee. In the village of Golovchino, a drone hit a truck, injuring one person.

Authorities in the Oryol region said there were no casualties or damage there. Officials in the Kursk and Lipetsk regions did not report on any consequences from drone attacks.

In the Moscow region’s Sergiev Posad district, four Ukrainian drones crashed early Friday morning, injuring two civilians, according to Governor Andrey Vorobyov.

District head Oksana Yerokhanova reported that the drones damaged a substation, leaving at least five neighborhoods in Sergiev Posad without power. According to the regional Energy Ministry, electricity has since been restored to some customers.