The Russian military announced that it shot down 58 Ukrainian suicide UAVs, in the second consecutive large-scale attack on the country's territory.
"Last night and the morning of March 13, Ukraine's attempts to carry out attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) against many targets on Russian territory were prevented," the Russian Ministry of Defense announced. on Telegram today.
This agency said Russian air defense downed a total of 58 Ukrainian UAVs, the most in Voronezh province with 29. Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Leningrad and Ryazan oblasts were also targeted in Ukraine's raid.
The Russian Ministry of Defense did not say how many UAVs Ukraine deployed in total in the large-scale raid and whether any of them passed through the country's air defense system.
Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov announced on the same day that Ukrainian UAVs had hit an oil refinery in the province, causing a fire. "Preliminary information indicates that someone was injured," Malkov said.
Another refinery near St. Petersburg, Leningrad province, was also targeted by a Ukrainian UAV, but it was shot down and caused no damage, according to governor Alexander Drozdenko.
The oil refinery in Ryazan province caught fire due to an attack by Ukrainian UAVs in a video posted on March 13. Video: X/Maria Avdeeva
Alexander Gussev, leader of Voronezh province, said air defense forces intercepted more than 30 Ukrainian UAVs over the province, more than the data given by the Russian Ministry of Defense, adding that the attack caused minor damage.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has not commented on the information.
This is one of Ukraine's largest UAV attacks since the beginning of the war, and is also the second large-scale attack in a row by Kiev. On March 12, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it had intercepted 3 UAVs in 25 provinces across the country, including 7 in Kursk province.
Local officials said the attack by Ukrainian UAVs caused fires at oil and gas facilities in Nizhny Novgorod and Oryol provinces.
Ukraine continuously conducts UAV attacks on enemy territory in the context of Russia preparing to conduct presidential elections on March 15-17.
Long-range UAV "Scythe" of Ukraine. Image: Terminal Autonomy
A pro-Ukrainian militia group called the Russian Free Corps (FRL) announced on March 12 that it had crossed the border and controlled the village of Tetkino in Kursk province, after Russian forces withdrew from here.
“We chose the time to conduct this campaign to coincide with the week of the election. As Russian citizens, we want to express our views on this election and the government of Vladimir Putin,” Alexey Baranovsky, FRL member, stated.
FRL is a group of Russians supporting Ukraine in the conflict, described as part of an international corps participating in the defense of Ukrainian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense later rejected FRL's statement, affirming that the army and border guard units of the Federal Security Service (FSB) stopped the group's campaign. The agency also posted a video of Russian soldiers in the village of Tetkino to show that the situation here is still calm.
Experts say there is no evidence that Ukraine's UAV raids and the FRL group's attack were a coordinated campaign. “However, it is no coincidence that these things took place just a few days before the Russian presidential election began,” Thomas Newdick, military expert at War zone, identify.
Location of villages Tetkino, Spodariushino, Nekhoteyevka and Odnorobovka. Graphics: RYV
Pham Giang (Follow RIA Novosti, AFP, War Zone)
