Russia on Sunday, the final day of its presidential vote, said that Ukraine deployed 35 drones across wide regions of Russia. The attack by Ukraine allegedly caused a brief fire at an oil refinery, targeted Moscow and disrupted electricity in border areas. Russia claims this was an act of election sabotage by Kyiv. Characterising the attack as one of the most extensive aerial operations on Russian soil since the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Putin vows to punish Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish Ukraine for the attacks while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed his gratitude to the military forces and intelligence for new “long-range capabilities”.
The Russian defense ministry announced on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday that 17 drones were neutralised over the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, four over the Moscow region, and the remainder over six other regions.
“The drones were neutralised, but a fire broke out as a result of the fall of one of the devices,” the operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region in southern Russia said.
Casualties
The attack caused a fire at the Slavyansk refinery in Krasnodar which was put out and no casualties were reported. However, as per preliminary details one person had died of a heart attack, the administration said.
According to Roman Siniagovskyi, who heads the Slavyansk administrative district, refinery workers were safely evacuated following the incident, and there is no imminent threat to nearby populated areas.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed that no casualties or damages were reported from the drones that were intercepted over three districts near Moscow.
Governor Mikhail Yevrayev confirmed that north of Moscow, four drones were eliminated over the Yaroslavl region, with no reports of damage or injuries. In the border region of Belgorod, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov stated that an attack by four drones launched from Ukraine caused damage to electricity and gas lines in one village. Russia’s defense ministry reported that Russian forces intercepted 12 rockets fired from Ukraine towards the Belgorod region on Sunday.
(With Reuters input)