A Ukrainian serviceman of the 10th Edelweiss Separate Mountain Assault Brigade carries a Leleka reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) before flying it at a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine on April 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 17 drones launched by Ukraine over its territory, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on April 28, with a regional official saying the attack targeted an oil storage facility in the Kaluga region.

The Defence Ministry said on the Telegram messaging app that three of the Ukraine-launched drones were downed over the Kaluga region, south of Moscow.

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Vladislav Shapsha, regional governor of Kaluga, said the drones fell near an oil depot near the town of Lyudinovo.

“There were no casualties or damage,” Mr. Shapsha said in a statement on Telegram.

The Russian Defence Ministry also said nine of the Ukraine-launched drones were destroyed over the Bryansk region, three over the Kursk region and two over the Belgorod region.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

Russia rarely discloses information about the full impact of Ukraine’s attacks on its territory or infrastructure.

Kyiv officials say targeting Russia’s military, energy and transport infrastructure undermines Moscow’s war effort.

A handout picture released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows a demonstration flight of military drones at a training range in the Moscow military district, in Russia, picture released April 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Ukraine launched a barrage of drones across Russia overnight, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said Saturday, in attacks that appeared to target the country’s energy infrastructure.

Fifty drones were shot down by air defences over eight Russian regions, including 26 over the country’s western Belgorod region close to the Ukrainian border.

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

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

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

The head of the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, said Saturday that a drone strike had sparked a blaze at an electrical substation, while Bryansk Gov. Alexander Bogomaz and Smolensk Gov. 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 the weapons’ range for months, as Kyiv attempts to compensate for its battlefield disadvantage in weapons and troops.

The 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 had died in the 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, head of the state-funded television channel RT, who described him as “a real American.”

He used the call-sign “Texas” and had spent time in prison on charges of drug smuggling before leaving the United States.

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

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

Gov. Oleh Kiper, head of Ukraine’s Odesa region, said that ballistic missiles had damaged infrastructure overnight, but did not provide further details.

Previous attacks on the Black Sea city on Friday damaged port infrastructure, including two food export terminals, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Russian shelling also killed a 50-year-old man in the city of Vovchansk, said Gov. Oleh Syniehubov, head of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.

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