Drone strikes hit southern Russia, killing three and injuring ten

Between 11:00 p.m. on December 17 and 7:00 a.m. on December 18, Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 47 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over several regions of the Russian Federation, the Russian Ministry of Defence reported.

According to the ministry’s Telegram channel, 31 drones were shot down over the Bryansk region, five over the Black Sea, four each over the Belgorod and Rostov regions, and a further three drones were destroyed over the Rostov region.

Earlier, the Defence Ministry had reported that an additional 30 drones were intercepted between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Moscow time on December 17. Those drones were downed over Crimea and the Black Sea.

The overnight attacks had deadly consequences in the Rostov region. Following a drone strike on the port of Rostov, a tanker caught fire. Two crew members were killed, while three others were injured. The fire was extinguished over an area of 20 square meters, and authorities reported that no oil spill occurred.

In the city of Bataysk, seven people were injured as a result of the drone attacks. Four of them received medical assistance at the scene, while three were hospitalised. One of the injured later died.

The strikes also caused damage to civilian infrastructure. Two sections of a newly built multi-story apartment building in Rostov were damaged, as well as two private houses in Bataysk. Emergency services said no one was injured in the damaged apartment building.

By Tamilla Hasanova