Ukrainian drone strikes apartment block in western Russia (VIDEOS)
Several people, including a child, have been injured after a Ukrainian drone struck an apartment block in the Russian city of Tver on Friday, officials have said. Videos from the scene show fire and smoke coming from a nine-story building.
Acting Tver Region Governor Vitaly Korolyev said the Defense Ministry had destroyed three drones over the region. Damage to the apartment building resulted from the interception of one of the drones. Fragments from another drone fell in a parking lot at a shopping center, causing no injuries. Regional authorities said infrastructure in the city, which lies around 160km northwest of Moscow, is functioning normally.
Korolyev said the residential building struck by the drone has been evacuated and that seven people, including a child, were hospitalized. Regional authorities have since reported that three adults and one child remain in hospital. Officials said there is no threat to their lives. Other residents received first aid and declined hospitalization.
Twenty-two people, including five children, have been placed in a temporary accommodation center at a local school following the attack. They have been provided with hot meals and essential supplies. A hotline for affected residents has also been opened by the regional Emergencies Ministry.
Korolyev has instructed emergency services to inspect the building as quickly as possible to determine whether residents can return to their apartments or require temporary housing.
Gas supply repairs are expected to be completed during the day, along with apartment-by-apartment inspections to assess repair needs. Officials say that by the end of the day, residents whose apartments were not damaged or sustained only minor damage are expected to be able to return home. Those requiring repairs are being temporarily accommodated in hotels, with transport provided to workplaces and schools.
Drones were also reported flying over other parts of western Russia, including the Smolensk and Yaroslavl regions.
The drone attacks occurred after the Russian Defense Ministry announced the liberation of the Donbass city of Seversk on Thursday. Control of the city, which has seen intermittent fighting since 2022, opens a path to Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, currently held by Ukrainian forces.
