Ukraine has launched several drone raids targeting facilities in Russia’s Voronezh, Kursk, and Belgorod Regions, local authorities have said. One of the strikes was aimed at a mining and refining facility not far from the border and resulted in a fire at a fuel depot, according to local media reports.
On Wednesday, Kursk Region Governor Roman Starovoyt said that a Ukrainian drone raid in the Zheleznogorsk district, some 100km from the border, has caused a fire at a fuel depot, adding that there were no casualties, and that emergency services were on their way to the scene.
He later added that a second Ukrainian drone had crashed into a fuel and lubricant storage facility on the premises of the mining and refining plant.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that air defenses thwarted two drone attacks in Voronezh Region in western Russia. It said the raids took place 90 minutes apart, but gave no details about their targets.
However, the Telegram channel Baza reported that one of the Ukrainian drones flew towards the Baltimor military air field but was downed several kilometers from the facility. Another two aircraft, the outlet added, tried to attack an oil terminal east of Voronezh but were destroyed.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov also said that his region came under a drone attack, adding that air defenses had shot down an unmanned aircraft near the village of Blizhneye, some 40km from the border. Citing preliminary data, he said that there appeared to be no casualties or damage, but noted that emergency services were on their way to the scene.
Ukraine routinely launches artillery, missile, and drone strikes at Russian border regions, many of which have targeted residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. In late February, three civilians were killed in Belgorod when a kamikaze drone hit a car with construction workers.
