125 Ukrainian drones have reported an attack that has sparked fires across Russia, Moscow officials say

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia on Sunday, officials said. This sparked a conflagration and set an apartment block ablaze – one of the largest barrages in Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down 125 drones in seven regions overnight. The southwestern Volgograd region came under particularly heavy fire. According to reports, 67 Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defenses.

Seventeen drones were also spotted over Russia’s Voronezh region, where falling debris damaged an apartment block and a private house, local governor Aleksandr Gusev said. Pictures on social media showed flames rising from the windows of the top floor of a high-rise building. No casualties were reported.

Another 18 drones were reported over Russia’s Rostov region, where falling debris sparked a wildfire, Governor Vasily Golubev said.

He said the fire posed no threat to populated areas, but crews were battling to extinguish the blaze, which had engulfed 20 hectares of forest.

Meanwhile, 13 civilians were injured in an overnight barrage on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Sunday after Ukrainian military leaders warned that Moscow could be preparing for a new military offensive in the south of the country.

The city was targeted in 10 separate attacks by Russian guide bombs that damaged a high-rise building and several residential buildings, regional governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on his official Telegram channel. More people could be trapped under the rubble, he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said the attack in Zaporizhzhia damaged the city’s transport links. “Today Russia attacked Zaporizhia with aerial bombs. Ordinary residential buildings were damaged and the entrance to one building was destroyed. The city’s infrastructure and railways were also damaged,” Zelensky said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“A total of 13 people were injured and two were rescued from under the rubble. I would like to thank all emergency services for their quick response and providing the necessary assistance. The rubble clearance is still in progress.”

The attacks came after the Ukrainian military warned on Saturday that Russian forces may be preparing for offensive operations in the wider Zaporizhia region. Vladyslav Voloshin, spokesman for the Southern Military Command of Ukraine, said that Russia is increasing personnel in this direction.

The Ukrainian Air Force also reported that 22 Russian drones were fired over the country overnight. It said 15 were shot down in the Ukrainian regions of Sumy, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv and Odessa and five others were destroyed by electronic defenses. The fate of the remaining two drones was not specified. ___

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The Associated Press