An anti-aircraft missile system on the roof of the main building of the Russian Defense Ministry on March 1, 2023, in Moscow. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Air defense units intercepted three Ukrainian drones flying over Russia's Rostov, Tula, and Kaluga oblasts overnight on Jan. 11, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed.
The ministry said that Russian forces shot down the drones at around 4:30 a.m. Moscow time.
No casualties or infrastructure damage was reported.
Russia has launched a series of devastating aerial attacks against Ukraine over the past days, targeting residential areas and critical infrastructure.
Russian officials claimed that several Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot and energy infrastructure facility in Oryol Oblast on Jan. 9, injuring three people. Kyiv does not typically comment on reports of attacks within the Russian Federation.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
The attack targeted an airfield near the city of Lipetsk, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) from the Ukrainian border, and caused two military aircraft to catch fire.
According to preliminary information, on Dec. 18, Russian forces illegally detained about 50 civilians — residents of the village of Hrabovske — holding them without access to communication or adequate conditions. On Dec. 20, they were forcibly taken to Russia.
Drone debris hit a pipeline at a terminal in Volna, a village in the region's Temryuk district, the Krasnodar Krai Emergency Headquarters said. A fire broke out as a result of the attack.
The talks focused on a revised 20-point plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine, a framework for security guarantees, and economic development, according to Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian delegation.
"If Putin says no, we need to dramatically change the game, including giving Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to hit the drone and missile factories that exist in Russia. I would go all in if Putin says no," U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on Dec. 21.
On Dec. 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at Western leaders during an annual meeting with his defense ministry, calling European leaders "piglets" and declaring that the goals of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine would be met "unconditionally."
Ukrainian and Russian delegations have rushed to Miami to take part in yet another round of talks with the U.S. representatives in what some see as an American effort to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
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Atesh operatives set fire at a railway hub in Bataysk, in Russia's Rostov Oblast, which Russian troops use to supply their forces in occupied parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts, as well as Crimea.
