Escalating Conflict: Ukrainian Drone Strikes Claim Lives in Western Russia

Russian air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 155 Ukrainian drones during a night assault, as reported by the Defense Ministry on Friday. Local officials indicated that the attacks resulted in at least three fatalities.

According to the military’s Telegram announcement, from 11 p.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. Friday, “air defense units successfully identified and neutralized 155 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.” It noted that 53 of these drones were shot down over the Kursk region, which is adjacent to Ukraine.

In the Lipetsk region, Governor Igor Artamonov reported that a drone crashed into an agricultural facility in the Khlevensky district, located approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Moscow.

«This incident led to a fire that was quickly brought under control,» he shared on Telegram. “One individual lost their life and another sustained injuries.”

Additionally, in a separate drone attack in the Tula region of western Russia, Governor Dmitry Milyaev confirmed that another person was killed and one was injured.

Later on Friday morning, authorities in the Belgorod region announced that a woman died due to a different shelling attack from Ukraine on the border town of Shebekino.

In the meantime, a Russian airstrike targeted the city of Chuhuiv in the northeastern Kharkiv region early Friday, damaging two homes and a hospital, as stated by Mayor Halyna Minaieva on Facebook. She reported that three individuals were hurt.

These Russian strikes have further harmed our civilians. Another tragic incident occurred in Kharkiv, where nine people were injured in a drone attack, including women at a maternity hospital—mothers with their newborns and others recovering from surgery. Thankfully, no children were reported injured. Russia continues its aggression… pic.twitter.com/q51BVFpBlO

Reporting by AFP contributed to this article.