KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia on Sunday, officials said, sparking a forest fire and torching an apartment building in one of the largest barrages seen over Russian airspace since. Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that this was the case shot down 125 drones in one night spread over seven regions. The southwestern Volgograd region came under particularly heavy fire, with 67 Ukrainian drones reportedly downed by Russian air defenses.
Seventeen drones were also spotted over Russia’s Voronezh region, where falling debris damaged an apartment building and a private home, local governor Aleksandr Gusev said. Images on social media showed flames rising from the windows of the top floor of a high-rise building. No casualties have been reported.
Another 18 drones were reported over Russia’s Rostov region, where falling debris sparked a forest fire, Governor Vasily Golubev said.
He said the fire posed no threat to populated areas but emergency services were fighting to extinguish the blaze, which had destroyed 20 hectares of forest.
Meanwhile, thirteen civilians were injured in a nighttime barrage on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia on Sunday, after Ukrainian military leaders warned that Moscow could be preparing for a new military offensive. the south of the country.
The city was targeted by Russian guided bombs in 10 separate attacks that damaged a high-rise building and several residential houses, regional governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on his official Telegram channel. More people may still be trapped under the rubble, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said the attack on Zaporizhia had damaged the city’s transport links. “Today Russia hit Zaporizhia with aerial bombs. Ordinary residential buildings were damaged and the entrance to one building was destroyed. The city’s infrastructure and railway were also damaged,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“A total of thirteen people were injured and two were rescued from the rubble. I would like to thank all emergency services for their quick response and providing the necessary assistance. The debris clearing continues.”
The attacks come after the Ukrainian military warned on Saturday that Russian forces may be preparing for offensive operations in the wider Zaporizhia region. Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for Ukraine’s Southern Military Command, said Russia is gathering personnel in this direction.
The Ukrainian Air Force also reported that 22 Russian drones had been launched over the country overnight. It said 15 were shot in the Ukrainian regions of Sumy, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv and Odessa, and another five were destroyed using electronic defense systems. The fate of the remaining two drones has not been specified. ___
