More than 100 Ukrainian drones have been shot down over Russia, officials say, sparking a wildfire and setting an apartment block alight in one of the largest barrages seen over Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia’s defence ministry said it shot down 125 drones overnight across seven regions.
The southwestern region of Volgograd came under particularly heavy fire, with 67 Ukrainian drones reportedly downed by Russian air defences.
Seventeen drones were also seen over Russia’s Voronezh region, where falling debris damaged an apartment block and a private home, Governor Aleksandr Gusev said on Sunday.
Images on social media showed flames rising from the windows of the top floor of a high-rise building. No casualties were reported.
A further 18 drones were reported over Russia’s Rostov region, where falling debris sparked a wildfire, Governor Vasily Golubev said.
He said the fire did not pose a threat to populated areas but emergency services were fighting to put out the blaze, which had engulfed 20 hectares of forest.
In Ukraine, 14 civilians were injured in an overnight barrage on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia after Ukrainian military leaders warned Moscow could be preparing for a new military offensive in the country’s south.
The city was targeted by Russian guide bombs in 10 separate attacks that damaged a high-rise building and several residential homes, regional governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on his official Telegram channel.
More people could still be trapped beneath the rubble, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said the Zaporizhzhia attack had damaged the city's transport links.
“Today, Russia struck Zaporizhzhia with aerial bombs. Ordinary residential buildings were damaged and the entrance of one building was destroyed. The city’s infrastructure and railway were also damaged,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X.
“In total, 13 people were injured, and two were rescued from under the rubble. I thank all the emergency services for their rapid response and providing necessary assistance. The rubble clearing is still ongoing.”
The attacks came after the Ukrainian military warned on Saturday that Russian forces might be preparing for offensive operations in the wider Zaporizhzhia region.
Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for Ukraine’s southern military command, said Russia was amassing personnel in this direction.
Ukraine’s air force also reported that 22 Russian drones were launched over the country overnight.
It said 15 were shot down in Ukraine’s Sumy, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv, and Odesa regions, and five more were destroyed using electronic defences.
The fate of the remaining two drones was not specified.
