Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least 10 people across Russia and Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine on Saturday, Russian officials said, with an Ozon warehouse and an industrial facility among the targets.
The latest attacks came a day after Russian drones struck a shopping centre in central Ukraine, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 130.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine’s attacks had opened a “Pandora’s box” for Russian retaliation. Kyiv has said its strikes are intended to disrupt financing for Moscow’s war effort.
Strikes Hit Several Russian Regions
In Russia’s Samara region, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said an elderly woman was killed in a drone strike on Novokuibyshevsk that damaged industrial facilities.
Ukraine’s military said it had struck the city’s oil refinery, causing a fire.
Ozon, Russia’s second-largest online retailer, said its logistics centre in Chapayevsk had suspended operations after the attack and that some people were injured.
The attack was the first reported strike on Ozon following weeks of Ukrainian drone attacks on its larger rival, Wildberries. Kyiv has described those attacks as part of a broader campaign targeting economic infrastructure that supports Russia’s war effort.
In the southern Krasnodar region, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said three people, including two children, were killed and another adult was wounded in a strike on the Sea of Azov port town of Yeysk. He said a fire broke out at an unidentified facility in the town’s port.
In Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, two people were killed and 13 wounded, according to the regional governor. Four people were also wounded in attacks in neighbouring Bryansk region.
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On the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, Moscow-backed Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said at least two people were killed and 10 wounded after a Ukrainian drone struck a city bus in Sevastopol.
In Luhansk region, which is largely controlled by Russia, Moscow-appointed Governor Leonid Pasechnik said two civilians, including a 16-year-old boy, were killed and nine others wounded.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had shot down 457 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to accelerate deliveries of new French military equipment to Ukraine after discussing Kyiv’s shortage of air defence systems with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Reuters
