Moscow Claims to Have Shot Down 50 Ukrainian Drones Aimed at its Energy Infrastructure

Kyiv: Ukraine launched a barrage of drones across Russia overnight, Defense Ministry in Moscow said Saturday, in attacks that appeared to target country’s energy infrastructure. Fifty drones were shot down by air defences over eight Russian regions, including 26 over country’s western Belgorod region close to Ukrainian border.

Two people — a woman with a broken leg and man caring for her — died during overnight barrage, after explosions sparked a blaze that set ir home alight, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Glkov wrote on social media.

A pregnant woman and her unborn child were also killed in shelling later Saturday, he said.

Drones were also reportedly destroyed over Bryansk, Kursk, Tula, Smolensk, Ryazan, Kaluga regions across Russia’s west and south, as well as in Moscow region.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that it h shot down a Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jet. It provided no details and claims could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian officials normally decline to comment about attacks on Russian soil. However, many of drone strikes appeared to be directed toward Russia’s energy infrastructure.

he of Kaluga region, Vlislav Shapsha, said Saturday that a drone strike h sparked a blaze at an electrical substation, while Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz and Smolensk Governor Vasily Anokhin also reported fires at fuel and energy complexes.

In recent months, Russian refineries and oil terminals have become priority targets of Ukrainian drone attacks, part of stepped-up assaults on Russian territory.

Ukrainian drone developers have been extending weapons’ range for months, as Kyiv attempts to compensate for its battlefield disvantage in weapons and troops. unmanned aerial vehicles are also an affordable option while Ukraine waits for more U.S. military aid.

Moscow also said Friday evening that an American citizen known to have fought with Kremlin-backed separatists in Ukraine between 2014 and 2017 h died in Russian-occupied Donetsk region.

Russell Bentley, 64, was no longer involved in military operations and previously worked for state-owned Russian news agency Sputnik.

His death was confirmed by his former battalion and by Margarita Simonyan, he of state-funded television channel RT, who described him as “a real American." He used call-sign “Texas” and h spent time in prison on charges of drug smuggling before leaving United States.

No information has been released as to cause of Bentley’s death, but local police h previously reported American as missing on April 8.

Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with seven missiles, and air defences downed two missiles and three reconnaissance drones, Ukrainian air force said Saturday.

Governor Oleh Kiper, he of Ukraine’s Odesa region, said that ballistic missiles h damaged infrastructure overnight, but did not provide furr details. Previous attacks on Black Sea city on Friday damaged port infrastructure, including two food export terminals, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Russian shelling also killed two men, including an 81-year-old pensioner in city of Vovchansk, said Governor Oleh Syniehubov, he of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.

A 60-year-old woman was also injured after shelling struck a nine-story apartment block, he said.