Ukrainian drones target Russia on final day of voting, Russian officials say
Ukraine fired a volley of exploding drones at Moscow and other targets on Sunday on the final day of Russia’s presidential election, local authorities said, continuing a series of attacks over the past week timed for the election.
The attacks combine strategic goals — diverting Russian forces from the front lines in Ukraine and destroying energy infrastructure — with a political goal of undermining President Vladimir V. Putin’s long-cultivated image as a leader who protects Russia.
In recent days, ground attacks along the Russian border appeared to be the most disruptive attack. On Sunday, Russian officials said Ukraine had attacked seven regions of the country. The Russian military said it shot down 35 exploding drones.
An oil refinery was set on fire in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia and air defense forces shot down two drones flying towards Moscow, Russian officials said.
Krasnodar Region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said debris from drones shot down by the army had ignited the fire at the oil refinery.
Four drones were shot down in the Yaroslavl region, northeast of Moscow, according to local authorities.
There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian military on the attacks in Russia.
In his late-night address to Ukrainians on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky praised domestic arms production that has grown to include the production of long-range weapons that can hit targets deep inside Russia.
“These weeks have shown to many that the Russian war machine has vulnerabilities that we can reach with our weapons.” said Mr. Zelensky. “What our own drones are capable of is a true Ukrainian long-range capability.”
Sunday’s drone strikes came amid ongoing clashes along a border area between Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkiv regions and Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions.
Three groups of Russian exiles, backed by Ukrainian military intelligence, have been attacking along the border since Tuesday, in what could be the biggest ground attack on Russia since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has responded by bombing the cities and towns in Ukraine where the exile groups operate. The Ukrainian army reported on Sunday 69 attacks in the past day in the Sumy region.
Elsewhere, two rockets hit the city of Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine, Vitaliy Kim, the head of the regional military government, told Ukrainian news media on Sunday. At least five people were injured, authorities said. In Nikopol, a city in southern Ukraine, an exploding drone hit a gas station, injuring three people. And authorities in the Odesa region in the south reported drone strikes that damaged agricultural warehouses but no casualties.