KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces launched one of the largest drone assaults of the conflict overnight, targeting Russian military and infrastructure sites across multiple regions including the Crimean peninsula, Russian officials said on Saturday.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that air defenses intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones over 12 regions, as well as the Black Sea and Azov Sea areas. Local authorities in Russian-controlled Crimea described overnight attacks that caused casualties and damage to infrastructure.
The Russian-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said two people, including a child, were killed and two others wounded in the strikes. Additional deaths were reported in Russia’s Bryansk and Belgorod border regions. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have downed 269 Ukrainian drones overnight across affected areas.
Ukrainian officials have not immediately commented on the specific operation. Kyiv has increasingly relied on long-range drones to strike Russian logistics, energy facilities and military targets in occupied territories as part of efforts to disrupt supply lines.
The strikes follow a pattern of intensified Ukrainian drone operations in recent weeks, which have targeted fuel depots, power infrastructure and bridges in Crimea and southern Russia. Russian authorities in Crimea have imposed fuel rationing and reported power outages amid repeated attacks.
In a related development, debris from drone activity sparked fires at an oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar region, local officials said. Details on the full extent of damage from the latest wave of attacks remained unclear early Saturday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously described waves of Ukrainian drones as attempts to “destabilize” society and disrupt energy supplies and tourism in Crimea.
“Ukrainian drones ‘coming in a huge stream’ were meant to destabilise society,” Putin was cited as saying in earlier remarks on similar attacks.
The latest assault comes as both sides continue exchanging long-range strikes. Ukraine has reported its own losses from Russian drone and missile barrages, while Russia has claimed significant intercepts of incoming threats.
No independent verification of the full scope of the strikes or casualty figures was immediately available. Russian authorities declared heightened alert levels in affected regions, with some areas implementing emergency measures for essential services.
The conflict, now in its fifth year, has seen drone warfare play an increasingly prominent role, with both Moscow and Kyiv deploying large numbers of unmanned systems against each other’s territory.
