Ukrainian drone strikes overnight have left at least three people dead and two others injured in western Russia, according to statements from regional authorities on Saturday.
In Penza region, a woman was killed and two others injured following a strike on an industrial facility, Governor Oleg Melnichenko disclosed via Telegram. In Samara, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev confirmed the death of an elderly man whose home was engulfed in flames after debris from a downed drone struck the building.
Further south, in Russia’s Rostov region, a security guard was reportedly killed when a drone triggered a fire at an industrial site, according to acting governor Yuri Sliusar.
Sliusar said Russian air defences had successfully “repelled a massive air attack,” destroying drones across seven districts. The Russian Ministry of Defence later confirmed that 112 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted across Russian territory during a near nine-hour assault, including 34 over Rostov alone.
On the Ukrainian front, authorities in the Dnipropetrovsk region reported overnight Russian drone attacks that left three people injured. Several residential buildings, vehicles, and other properties sustained damage, regional governor Sergiy Lysak posted on Telegram.
Moscow has claimed recent territorial gains in the Dnipropetrovsk area, asserting the capture of two villages in what appears to be a continued offensive surge in July. However, Kyiv has denied the presence of Russian forces in that region.
While the conflict has now surpassed its third year, diplomatic solutions remain elusive. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his demands for Ukraine to relinquish occupied territories and abandon its bid to join NATO, conditions Kyiv has repeatedly rejected.
Putin maintained that Moscow seeks peace, but “our demands remain unchanged.” Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his call for direct talks with Putin.
“The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia’s readiness,” Zelensky wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
