Ukraine launched drone attacks across multiple Russian regions, hitting two residential houses in the Tambov region and injuring at least three people, Russia said on Saturday.
The regional head, Evgeny Pervyshov, said on the Telegram messaging app that people were treated for injuries resulting from shattered windows as drones hit two houses in the town of Kotovsk, about 480 kilometres (300 miles) southeast of Moscow.
He said the buildings were only slightly damaged, the inhabitants were offered temporary housing, and an evacuation was not required.
“Three (people) had cuts from fragments of broken windows, another four complained of high blood pressure,” he said.
Ukrainian Drones Intercepted
Separately, Russia’s defence ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 85 Ukrainian drones overnight in several regions of the country, including 31 drones over the Black Sea, 16 each in the Voronezh and Krasnodar regions and 14 over the Azov Sea.
Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said airports in the cities of Kazan, Nizhnekamsk and Ulyanovsk in the Volga River regions temporarily suspended flights.
A flight suspension in the city of Saratov was also later declared to ensure safety.
Kyiv’s Air Force said in a statement early on Saturday that Russia launched 74 drones at Ukraine overnight, adding it had downed 47 of them, while 27 others disappeared from radars without reaching their targets.
Drone War Escalated
In recent months, drone strikes between Russia and Ukraine have intensified, marking a new phase in the ongoing conflict.
Both sides in the Ukraine conflict have turned cheap commercial drones into deadly weapons and also increased their production.
Russian and Ukrainian soldiers alike have reported a visceral fear of drones, and both sides have used video footage of fatal drone strikes in their propaganda.
On Friday, Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out a missile strike on a supermarket in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
(With inputs from Reuters)
