The Russian military has intercepted six Ukrainian fixed-wing drones flying overnight towards targets deep inside Russia, the Defense Ministry reported on Thursday morning.
According to the breakdown provided in the statement, one robotic aircraft was shot down over Kursk Region, three over Bryansk Region, and two over Tula Region.
Aleksandr Bogomaz, the governor of Bryansk Region, previously reported two drone interceptions, neither of which caused any damage or casualties on the ground.
His counterpart from Kursk Region, Roman Starovoyt, used social media to announce an air alert during the night, which he withdrew some three hours later. On Thursday morning, Governor Aleksandr Gusev of Voronezh Region likewise warned residents about a possible threat.
Those three regions border Ukraine and have regularly been targeted by Kiev’s forces. Tula Region, however, is located deeper inside Russia, some 200km away from the Ukrainian border and adjacent to Moscow Region, which surrounds the Russian capital. Local officials said no damage or casualties were caused by the two downed aircraft.
On Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone hit a fuel depot in Kursk Region some 100km from the border, causing a fire, the governor reported. Another one crashed into a fuel and lubricant storage facility used by an ore refinery.