Azernews.Az

AzerNEWS Staff

Read more

Russia’s Rostov region came under a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack early Saturday, with strikes reported in Rostov-on-Don and several surrounding districts, according to regional authorities.

Rostov Region Governor Yuriy Slyusar said drones targeted the regional capital as well as the Aksai, Bagaevsky and Neklinovsky districts.

In Aksai, a strike hit an area housing logistics facilities operated by Ozon and DNS. Ozon confirmed that one of its logistics centres in the Rostov region had been attacked, saying a small fire broke out but was quickly extinguished. Employees had been evacuated before the incident and no casualties were reported.

Ozon suspended operations at the affected facility and redirected incoming deliveries to other warehouses. The company also temporarily halted operations at a second logistics centre in the area as a precaution, despite the facility itself not being damaged.

Two separate fires were reported near DNS commercial properties in Aksai. Local reports placed one of the fires at 180 Novocherkassk Highway, Building 3, close to the Ozon logistics centre.

Ukrainian monitoring channels also claimed that the Midel shipbuilding and repair plant in Aksai was targeted and that a vessel caught fire at the facility. Those claims have not been independently confirmed.

The overnight drone threat also disrupted air travel across several Russian regions. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency imposed temporary restrictions on arrivals and departures at airports including those serving Kazan, Bugulma, Samara, Cheboksary, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Penza, Krasnodar and Kaluga.

Slyusar said seven people were injured in the attack. Four, including two children, were taken to hospitals in Rostov-on-Don, with one child reported to be in serious condition. Three other people sought medical assistance in Aksai.

Drone debris damaged two apartment buildings in the Veresaevo residential complex in Rostov-on-Don’s Proletarsky district, according to regional authorities. Windows were also shattered in private homes in Bagaevsky district, while debris was found at warehouse premises in Aksai and a forest area caught fire.

Ukrainian open-source analysts have attributed some of the damage to residential buildings in Rostov to Russian air-defence activity, although that assessment has not been independently verified.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air-defence forces intercepted and destroyed 313 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones overnight across Russian territory, Crimea and the Azov and Black seas. It said drones were detected over Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Rostov and Tula regions, as well as the Moscow region, Krasnodar Krai and Tatarstan.

Photo by uawire