At least five Ukrainian combat drones have been downed over Russian territory as Kyiv continues with a pledge to bring Moscow’s war in Ukraine back to Russia.
Two drones were shot down on approach to Bryansk city in Russia’s southwest, two were shot down over the southern Rostov region, and one was intercepted near the capital, Moscow, Russian officials and state news agencies reported early on Thursday.
One person was injured and several vehicles damaged when one drone was shot down and crashed in the city of Rostov-on-Don in the early hours of Thursday, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
“According to verified information, air defence systems shot down two unmanned aerial vehicles,” Rostov’s regional Governor Vasily Golubev said, according to TASS.
A separate news report said that buildings were also damaged in Rostov-on-Don due to falling debris from the destroyed drone. The second drone came down outside the city, according to reports.
Bryansk regional Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said that two drones were downed on approach to Bryansk city and did not cause damage or casualties.
Moscow’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin also reported that a drone was shot down by air defence systems in the capital’s Ramensky district, located approximately 60km (37 miles) from central Moscow.
“Air defence forces thwarted a drone attack on Moscow. No damage or casualties were preliminarily reported from the site where the fragments hit the ground,” Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.
Also on Thursday, Russia launched the fourth day of attacks in the past five days on Ukraine’s key Danube river port area of Izmail.
Odesa regional Governor Oleh Kiper said Russian drones damaged infrastructure, including grain silos and administrative buildings, in the early morning attack in the Izmail district. One person was injured, the governor said.
Thursday’s raid on Izmail and the attempted drone attacks on Russia come a day after a Russian missile tore through an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine, killing 17 people and wounding at least 32, according to officials.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the “attack by Russian terrorists” on Wednesday in the city of Kostiantynivka, near the front line in the Donetsk region, was deliberately aimed at civilians.
