Authorities in Russia’s western Belgorod region said that two people had been killed by a Ukrainian drone strike on Friday evening as Russia’s Defence Ministry reported on Saturday morning that it had downed 50 drones launched at eight Russian regions overnight.
Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that a woman recovering from a hip fracture and a man who had been taking care of her had been killed in a fire that broke out following the “dropping of two explosive devices” on the village of Poroz, which is on Russia’s border with Ukraine. The woman’s son, Gladkov added, had managed to “escape from the burning house at the last moment”.
Gladkov reported the deaths a few hours before Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed 50 Ukrainian drones launched at the country overnight. Over half of the drones had been downed over the Belgorod region, the ministry’s statement said, as well as 10 over the Bryansk region, eight over the Kursk region, two over the Tula region and one each over the Smolensk, Ryazan, Kaluga and Moscow regions.