(Moscow) A nighttime attack by Ukrainian drones has sparked a fire in the Krasnodar region in southwestern Russia, forcing authorities to “temporarily” evacuate more than a thousand residents, although there have been no reports of injuries so far, the local governor said Saturday.
Other drones struck the Tver region, much further north, again without causing any casualties, according to regional authorities.
Images published on social media and by independent Russian media show massive explosions and massive clouds of smoke.
AFP was not immediately able to verify the authenticity of the images.
Two drones were shot down by air defenses and falling debris “started” a fire in the Tikhoretsky district, Veniamine Kondratiev reported on Telegram.
The Krasnodar region is close to Ukraine, from which it is separated by the Sea of Azov.
The drone attack “did not cause any casualties,” Governor Kondratiev said.
IMAGE FROM SOCIAL MEDIA, REUTERS
Smoke and flames rise from a ship following a fire in the port of Kavkaz, Krasnodar region, Russia.
But the authorities have decided to “temporarily” evacuate people living in the village of Koubane, near the scene of the fire, he added.
Some 1,200 residents were evacuated, Veniamine Kondratiev later said. He did not indicate the precise target of the Ukrainian strike.
The Defense Ministry earlier said it had shot down 18 drones over the Krasnodar region, and 16 over the Sea of Azov.
Other drones struck the Tver region. Traffic on a highway had to be stopped, before resuming at midday, regional authorities reported on Telegram.
The strike took place in the Toropets district, Tver region governor Igor Rudenia said.
101 drones
On Wednesday, Ukraine had already claimed responsibility for the destruction of a warehouse containing missiles and artillery ammunition in Toropets.
Ballistic missiles, guided aerial bombs and artillery munitions were stored there, she said.
This city is located about 400 km northwest of Moscow.
IMAGE ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
A series of explosions occurred at an ammunition depot in Toropets, Russia, on September 18, 2024.
Regional authorities had spoken of a “fire”, without mentioning a weapons warehouse, and ordered a temporary evacuation of the population.
In total, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 101 Ukrainian drones during the night from Friday to Saturday.
In total, 53 drones were shot down over the Bryansk region (West), which borders Russia and where the governor declared that there was no damage or casualties.
Moscow recently announced that its military was intercepting Ukrainian drones launched by Kyiv in retaliation for the Russian offensive launched in Ukraine in February 2022 almost daily.
For its part, the Russian ministry said it had carried out a group attack during the night “against energy installations that support the work of enterprises of the military-industrial complex” in Ukraine.
“All the objectives of the strike were achieved,” he added in a statement.
The Russian military said it had hit weapons depots and a ship containing weapons destined for Ukraine.
On Friday, the governor of the Ukrainian region of Odessa, Oleg Kiper, said that a Russian strike had damaged port infrastructure and a boat, which he said was civilian.