\n<\/p>\n
Russian air defenses intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones in a major nighttime attack on 12 Russian regions as well as the Russia-held Crimean peninsula, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry said Friday.<\/p>\n
It appeared to be one of the biggest drone attacks on Russian regions and the illegally annexed Crimea since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a> more than four years ago.<\/p>\n In an effort to turn the tables on Russia\u2019s grinding war of attrition, Ukrainian long-range drones have for months been battering targets<\/a>, including oil production and energy facilities, behind the front line and deep inside Russia. The campaign has choked Russian fuel supplies<\/a> and military deliveries, stalling Russia’s efforts on the battlefield, Western officials and analysts say, and heaped pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n The major attack came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that he had ordered \u201ca 40-day influence operation,\u201d believed to mean an escalation of attacks, aimed at \u201ccompelling (Russia) to end the war\u201d after U.S. peace efforts over the past year yielded no breakthrough.<\/p>\n In the Tula region just south of Moscow, a private house was damaged by the attack and a woman was wounded, Tula Gov. Dmitry Milyaev said in an online statement as reports of damage caused by the attack began to emerge.<\/p>\n He also said a power line was damaged and an unspecified industrial facility in the city of Novomoskovsk.<\/p>\n Russian independent online outlet Astra reported that a chemical plant and a hydroelectric plant in Novomoskovsk were attacked and caught fire. The Associated Press couldn\u2019t independently verify the report, and there was no official confirmation.<\/p>\n Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also reported that 47 Ukrainian drones were downed as they flew toward the Russian capital. He did not report any casualties or damage.<\/p>\n Two people were killed and seven others injured in Russian attacks on the northeastern Kharkiv region over the previous 24 hours, regional head Oleh Syniehubov said Friday.<\/p>\n Russian forces struck the city of Kharkiv and 16 other settlements across the region using guided aerial bombs and drones of various types, Syniehubov said.<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s Defense Forces overnight stopped 174 of 189 Russian drones, the Ukrainian air force said. However, four of seven Iskander-M ballistic missiles that were fired got through air defenses and struck various locations, it said.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow the AP\u2019s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/russia-ukraine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nA Russian chemical plant is reportedly hit<\/h2>\n
Ukraine says 2 civilians were killed in Russian attacks<\/h2>\n