By Eight killed and more than 60 wounded in Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian targets
Smoke rises from a warehouse in Elektrostal, a city near Moscow. (Reuters)
In short:
Eight people were killed by Ukrainian drone attacks on two warehouses, Russian officials have said.
One facility was hit in the town of Kotovsk.
Another one was struck in the city of Elektrostal, with footage showing massive plumes of smoke towering over it.
Eight people have been killed and more than 60 others were wounded in Russia by overnight Ukrainian drone attacks, according to Russian officials.
Two sprawling warehouses of Russia’s major online retailer, Wildberries, were hit by Ukrainian drones overnight, Moscow says.
One was struck in the town of Kotovsk in the Tambov region, some 360 kilometres from the border with Ukraine, and another one was hit in the city of Elektrostal, about 50 kilometres east of Moscow.
Both caught fire, but Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim said later on Saturday morning, local time, that the fire in Kotovsk has been put out.
Images and footage released by Russian online outlets showed a fire raging at the Elektrostal facility, with massive plumes of smoke towering over it.
A Ukrainian drone also hit an oil depot in the city of Noginsk, just north of Elektrostal, sparking a fire and prompting evacuations of a nearby maternity hospital and a residential building, according to the governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov.
Kyiv’s forces are continuing their relentless aerial campaign against energy infrastructure and military targets inside Russia.
It is aiming to undermine Moscow’s war effort and make Russians feel the consequences of the Kremlin’s all-out invasion of Ukraine that is well into its fifth year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that Ukrainian long-range strikes hit two “significant logistical facilities in the Moscow and Tambov regions.”
“These facilities were used by the aggressor to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment,” Mr Zelenskyy wrote.
An oil facility was also hit, he said.
Seven night shift workers were killed at the warehouse in Kotovsk, and 25 others were wounded, Tambov regional governor Yevgeny Pervyshov said.
A total of 37 people were wounded in the Moscow region, Mr Vorobyov said, adding that one of those later died in the hospital.
Damage following a Ukrainian drone attack, according to regional authorities, in the town of Elektrostal. (Reuters: Governor of Moscow region Andrei Vorobyov/Handout)
In Elektrostal, drone debris also hit a kindergarten building, the regional governor said, sparking a fire that has since been put out.
In the city of Vladimir, some 180 kilometres east of Moscow, a Ukrainian drone hit a residential building, sparking a brief fire, Vladimir governor Alexander Avdeyev said.
There were no casualties.
Ukrainian special operations also conducted strikes against targets in the Sea of Azov and in occupied territory, President Zelenskyy said.
Overall, the Russian Defense Ministry said its air defences overnight intercepted 379 Ukrainian drones.
In Ukraine, Russia launched an attack on Odesa port infrastructure on Saturday, hitting a vessel under the Antigua and Barbuda flag and killing one person, Odesa’s regional governor Oleh Kiper said.
Mr Kiper said on the Telegram app that three people were injured, and infrastructure facilities — buildings, storage tanks, and warehouses — were damaged.
Wires/ABC
Originally published on www.abc.net.au — View original