A woman has been killed in Ukrainian shelling of Russia's Kursk region and drones have struck a fuel facility in the neighbouring region of Oryol, the two regions' governors say amid an escalation of cross-border attacks.
In a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app, Kursk region governor Roman Starovoit said a woman had been killed by shelling in the village of Gornal, near the border with Ukraine.
At least five drones were shot down over the Kursk region on Tuesday, Starovoit and Russia's defence ministry said.
The governor of Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, said two drones had hit a fuel facility, injuring three and causing a fire that was later extinguished.
He said three drones had been shot shown.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Klychkov called the events "an enemy attack".
Later the governor of the nearby Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, and the defence ministry reported the destruction of another drone, without providing any details.
Russian border regions have repeatedly come under fire from Ukraine in recent months.
On December 30, at least 20 people were killed in a missile strike on the city of Belgorod, 40km from Ukraine, Russian media said.
Russia has also recently fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, including some far behind the frontline, Ukrainian officials have said.
In the latest strike this week, Russia fired 51 missiles of various types, killing at least four people and hitting civilian infrastructure, they said.
Meanwhile, hackers linked to Ukraine’s main spy agency have breached computer systems at a Moscow-based internet provider in retaliation for a Russian cyber attack against Ukrainian telecom giant Kyivstar, a source with direct knowledge of the operation told Reuters on Tuesday.
The hacking group, dubbed "Blackjack," has previously been linked to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The hackers deleted 20 terrabytes of data at M9 Telecom, a small Russian internet and TV provider, leaving some Moscow residents without internet, the source said.
The digital intrusion was a warm-up for a larger cyber attack which would be "serious revenge for Kyivstar," the source said, citing the hackers.
The source did not say when the hack took place.
M9 Telecom did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The company's website was still online on Tuesday despite claims by the hacking group that it had been destroyed.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the extent to which the hack was successful.
Reached by phone, M9 Telecom's CEO Andrey Pavolvsky declined to comment.
Separately, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the GUR, said late on Monday that it had received a large cache of classified Russian military data from the Special Technology Centre (STC), a sanctioned Russian company which produces the Orlan drone and a range of intelligence equipment for Russian authorities.
