Ukraine launched a new wave of attacks on Russian territory on Sunday, killing at least two people, including a teenager, as Russians cast their votes in the final day of voting, local officials said. presidential vote Plans to extend President Vladimir Putin's rule 6 more years.
Authorities also announced that a drone crashed into an oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, starting a fire that was extinguished several hours later. One refinery worker died of a heart attack, officials said.
Russian officials say refineries and oil terminals have been targeted by Ukrainian drone attacks in recent days, and long-range drone attacks and Russian proxies based in Ukraine come as Putin heads closer. It is said that this is part of an intensification of attacks on Russian territory, including suspected intrusions by the Russian Federation. -Reelection is guaranteed in Russia.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that it shot down 35 Ukrainian drones overnight, four of which were shot down in the Moscow region. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a fifth drone was shot down near the capital's Domodedovo airport on Sunday morning. No casualties or damage were reported.
Two drones were shot down over the Kaluga region, just south of Russia's capital, and four were shot down over the Yaroslavl region northeast of Moscow, the Defense Ministry said.
The attacks on the Yaroslavl region, located about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the Ukrainian border, were some of the farthest ever carried out by Ukraine.
More Ukrainian drones were shot down over Belgorod, Kursk, Rostov regions and the southern region of Krasnodar, which border Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense said.
Sunday morning's shelling of Belgorod killed a 16-year-old girl and wounded her father, and a second attack later in the day killed another man and wounded 11 others, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
In other places, Drone attack on military facilities A helicopter was destroyed and caught on fire Sunday in Moldova's breakaway republic of Transnistria, officials said. Pro-Russian authorities in the region blamed Ukraine for the attack. In a statement, the Reintegration Policy Department said it had “not confirmed any attacks” on Transnistria and called the reports “an attempt to cause fear and panic in the region.”
There has been a spate of Ukrainian drone strikes in recent days, which President Putin described as Ukrainian attempts to frighten the population and derail Russia's presidential election.
“Enemy attacks have not and will not go unpunished,” he vowed at a meeting of Russia's Security Council on Friday. “I am sure that our people, the Russian people, will respond even more unitedly.”
Two Russian ballistic missiles struck the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Sunday, injuring at least five people, the region's governor, Vitaly Kim, wrote on the messaging app Telegram.
The Ukrainian military also announced on Sunday that 14 Russian drones were shot down over the Odesa region. Russian ballistic missile attack At least 21 people were killed in the southern port city on Friday.
The British Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that Defense Secretary Grant Shapps had abandoned a visit to Odessa earlier this month, citing the Russian missile threat. The Sunday Times reported that Mr Shapps, who visited Kyiv on March 7, had been warned by British intelligence that Russia was aware of his travel plans.
as war drag in Third yearRelying on its superiority in firepower, Russian forces have been slowly inching forward along the front, while Ukraine has counterattacked with further drone strikes deep in Russia.
The number of cross-border attacks is also increasing.
The Russian Free Corps, one of a number of armed groups including Russians fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, announced on Sunday that it had captured the Russian border village of Gorkovsky in the Belgorod region. Videos published on social media showed troops removing the Russian flag from the village's main building. Images have not been independently verified by The Associated Press.
A similar group, the Russian Volunteer Corps, published a video on social media on Saturday claiming to have captured 25 Russian soldiers. This claim also could not be independently verified.
Meanwhile, the Russian military said on Saturday that it had thwarted a new cross-border infiltration attempt by a Ukrainian “subversive and reconnaissance group.”
Cross-border attacks in the region have occurred sporadically since the war began and have not only been the subject of claims and counterclaims; false information And advertising.
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Jill Lawless in London and Stephen McGrath in Sighisoara, Romania contributed to this report.
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This article has been corrected to show that contributor Stephen McGrath is in Sighisoara, Romania, not Bucharest.