Kiev, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone, missile and artillery strikes on Saturday, as Kiev third Independence Day since the large-scale invasion of Moscow.
A woman was killed and a man was wounded when Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the capital of the partially occupied Kherson region, the regional prosecutor said.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted and destroyed seven drones over the south of the country. Russian long-range bombers also struck the area of Zmiinyi (Snake) Island with four cruise missiles, while the wider Kherson region was also hit by aerial bombs.
In Russia, the Ministry of Defense reported on Saturday that air defenses had shot down seven drones during the night from Friday to Saturday.
Five drones were shot down over the southwestern Voronezh region, which borders Ukraine, injuring two people, regional governor Aleksandr Gusev said. News site Astra published videos that appeared to show explosions at a munitions depot after being hit by a drone. The videos could not be independently verified.
Two people were wounded in a drone strike in the Belgorod region, which also borders Ukraine, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Local authorities reported no casualties in the Bryansk region, where the fifth drone was intercepted.
In the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops launched their attack, surprise offensive in Russia Two weeks ago, regional governor Alexei Smirnov said on Saturday that three rockets had been shot down overnight and another four on Saturday morning.
Russian air defenses shot down two more drones on Saturday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry reported, one over the Kursk region and one over the Bryansk region.
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