Thick plumes of smoke with flames rise from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Moscow, Russia. (Photo: Reuters)
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday it had intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones overnight across 12 Russian regions, as well as over annexed Crimea and the Azov and Black Seas, in what appeared to be one of the largest drone attacks on Russian soil since the full-scale invasion began more than four years ago, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
In the Tula region south of Moscow, a private home was damaged and a woman was wounded, regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said, adding that a power line and an industrial facility in the city of Novomoskovsk were also hit. Russian independent outlet Astra reported that a chemical plant and a hydroelectric plant in Novomoskovsk caught fire following the strikes, though the AP said it could not independently verify those claims and there was no official confirmation.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 47 drones were brought down as they flew towards the capital, reporting no casualties or damage in the city, AP reported.
The overnight assault is part of a sustained Ukrainian aerial campaign that has caused fuel shortages across Russia, disrupted military supply lines and stalled Moscow’s advances on the front, according to AP. Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and oil refineries in recent months, with earlier attacks this week knocking out power in Sevastopol in Russian-held Crimea and setting facilities ablaze across central and southern Russia.
This is a developing story and will be updated
