‘Ukrainian drone’ injures civilians in Russia’s Voronezh

A drone crashed into a residential building in the Russian city of Voronezh on Friday, injuring at least three people, regional Governor Aleksandr Gusev has reported on social media. 

The Kremlin has announced an investigation. Preliminary reports suggest it was a Ukrainian attack against Russian civilian infrastructure.

Images purportedly shot at the scene show a wall of the building severely damaged, presumably by the impact.

RIA Novosti cited the company managing the apartment block as saying the injuries received by bystanders were only minor cuts. Several homes were damaged after the drone hit the building between the second and third floors, it added.

Some media reported that the unmanned aircraft was carrying explosives and was intercepted by air defenses before crashing down.

A video shared online, which purports to have been filmed by a witness moments before the crash, showed an aircraft flying over the city. It then makes a nosedive and hits a building in a fiery explosion.

A security source cited by TASS assessed that the drone was targeting an aviation plant located in Voronezh, but was stopped by electronic warfare countermeasures.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the investigation into the incident was underway, but preliminary reports indicated that it was a Ukrainian attack against Russian civilian infrastructure.

Last week, three unmanned aerial vehicles crashed in Moscow, hitting several residential buildings. Russia has accused Ukraine of launching the aircraft, branding the incident an act of terrorism.

The Voronezh Region is located in the western part of Russia, relatively close to Kiev-controlled territories. Ukrainian troops have been launching regular cross-border attacks since the start of the armed conflict with Russia.

Belinsky Street in Voronezh, where the latest drone fell, is in the city center, close to several government buildings and a university campus.