Beirut: Two people were killed and 20 others injured in overnight Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia's Rostov and Belgorod regions, local authorities said on Monday.
According to Anadolu Agency, Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar stated in a Telegram post that two individuals lost their lives in the city of Rostov-on-Don, while eight others sustained injuries. The attack ignited fires in warehouses, private homes, and a business, also causing damage to residential buildings and triggering emergency response efforts in the nearby city of Taganrog.
Authorities in the Belgorod region reported that 12 civilians, including two children, were injured in what was described as a significant drone attack. The regional operational headquarters mentioned on the Russian social media platform Max that a woman with a shrapnel wound to her temple received on-site treatment, while the remaining injured were transported to hospitals. The attack resulted in several apartments and more than 15 vehicles catching fire, with ongoing damage assessments.
Aleksandr Brechalov, the head of Russia's Udmurt Republic, remarked that air defenses were actively countering a drone attack and noted that preliminary reports suggested there were no casualties. He described the situation as the "most massive attack in recent memory" on targets within the Udmurt Republic.
In a related development, Russia's Defense Ministry announced on Telegram that its forces successfully intercepted and destroyed 276 Ukrainian drones overnight across various regions, including annexed Crimea and over the waters of the Black and Azov seas. The ministry further mentioned that Russian forces targeted Ukrainian ports used for military supply deliveries, with attack drones hitting two bulk carriers in the port of Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the other hand, confirmed that Ukrainian forces struck an export terminal in the Rostov region, approximately 250 kilometers from the front line. He also mentioned strikes on oil facilities in Russia's Yaroslavl region and the Udmurt Republic, about 1,300 kilometers from Ukraine's border. Zelenskyy emphasized Ukraine's strategy of long-range actions to diminish Russia's war financing capabilities, stating on X that these responses are aimed at bringing the conflict back to Russia, paving the way for a potential dignified peace.
Ukraine's General Staff reported on Telegram that Russia launched 147 drones overnight, with 123 being intercepted across the country's north, south, and east. Independent verification of these claims was not immediately possible due to the ongoing conflict.