Sept 18 (Askume) – Ukrainian drone strikes sparked fires and forced some residents of Russia’s Tver region to evacuate, officials said on Wednesday, while Kiev attacked several western regions overnight.
Igor Rudenya, governor of the western Tver region, northwest of Moscow, said on the Telegram messaging app that the wreckage of the destroyed Ukrainian drone was in Toropets in the western Tver region, setting off a fire in the town.
Rudnia said firefighters were trying to control the fire, but did not specify what was burning. He said Russian air defense forces were still trying to thwart a “massive drone attack” on the city.
Russia is building an arsenal at Toropets to store missiles, ammunition and explosives, according to a 2018 RIA Novosti state news agency report.
Vasily Anokhin, the governor of the western Smolensk region bordering Belarus, said on Telegram that seven Ukrainian drones were also destroyed in the region.
Another 14 drones were shot down in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, and several more were destroyed in the Orel and Tula regions, the governor of the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine said.
Askume could not independently confirm the reports. Ukraine had no immediate comment.
Kiev has previously said attacks on Russia would target military, energy and transport infrastructure vital to Moscow’s war effort.
Russian officials have rarely disclosed the full cost of attacks in Ukraine.
As Ukraine has increased domestic drone production over the past two years, it has also increased its attacks on Russian territory.
In September, Ukraine’s biggest ever drone attack hit the Russian capital, killing at least one person, destroying homes and disrupting flights at Moscow airport.
