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Russia’s defence ministry says its forces have destroyed dozens of drones in several regions across the country, including Moscow.<\/p>\n
The biggest attack happened in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, where an oil refinery was targeted.<\/p>\n
The attacks come as Russia holds a general election in which President Vladimir Putin<\/a><\/span><\/span> is guaranteed to win.<\/p>\n In Ukraine, officials reported an overnight barrage of Russian drones and missiles on the port city of Odesa.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian governor of the north-eastern city of Kharkiv said 15 settlements had been shelled by Russia over the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n In Russia, authorities said 17 drones had been launched against an oil refinery and had been neutralised, but one sparked a fire as it fell.<\/p>\n No deaths were reported as a result of the fire, which has been extinguished.<\/p>\n One person is thought to have died of a heart attack during the strike. It is the sixth oil refinery attacked in Russia over the past week.<\/p>\n A source has confirmed to the BBC that Ukrainian forces targeted the Slovyansk oil refinery in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia. The security source referred to a “successful result”, and a “large fire”.<\/p>\n It said again that Ukraine’s aim was to undermine the Russian economy and its oil exports.<\/p>\n The Krasnodar attack is the latest in a number of similar drone attacks, with 12 oil refineries targeted in recent times.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Telegram that five drones were downed in different areas while flying towards the capital early on Sunday.<\/p>\n And two Moscow airports have imposed flight restrictions for security reasons, state media report.<\/p>\n Another area of Russia – the Belgorod region, near northern Ukraine – has also come under attack, according to its governor. In the early hours of Sunday, he said a teenage girl had died when a shell hit a residential building.<\/p>\n Vyacheslav Gladkov said drones dropped explosive devices in the village of Oktyabrsky – damaging electricity and gas supply lines.<\/p>\n Later on Sunday, Mr Gladkov said a man died “before an ambulance crew arrived” after air strikes hit a car park in Belgorod. Eleven others were injured, the governor added.<\/p>\n It is the second time Belgorod has been targeted this weekend.<\/p>\n On Saturday, at least two people were killed<\/a> in a bombardment the authorities blamed on Ukraine. Shops and schools were closed afterwards as a safety precaution.<\/p>\n According to Ukraine’s southern defence forces, 13 Iranian-made Shahed drones were shot down.<\/p>\n No injuries were reported, but the attack caused fires at two agricultural sites and destroyed buildings. The fires have since been put out.<\/p>\n Another drone was shot down in the Mykolaiv region.<\/p>\n While Russia claims that Ukraine is attempting to disrupt the presidential election that is certain to give President Putin another six years in power, it also launched a wave of drones against Ukrainian cities overnight – as it has done since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.<\/p>\n Ukrainian forces managed to intercept most of them, but two struck sites in the port city of Odesa – days after a double missile attack killed at least 20 people and left dozens more wounded.<\/a><\/p>\n In his evening address on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky referred to the success of Ukraine’s long-range drones in recent weeks exposing what he called “vulnerabilities” in Russia’s “war system”.<\/p>\n “Ukraine will now always have its own strike force in the sky,” he said.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n