Russian Defense Ministry claims Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's North Ossetia

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on June 8 that air defenses in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia-Alania downed a Ukrainian drone.

Shortly after, Sergey Menyaylo, the head of the republic, claimed that air defenses had shot down three drones in the town of Mozdok.

North Ossetia-Alania is a republic in Russia's North Caucasus region, bordering Georgia to the south and Chechnya to the east.

Mozdok is located some 730 kilometers (453 miles) southeast of the Ukrainian border and is home to a Russian airbase. In the aftermath of the Second Chechen War in the early 2000s, there were several terrorist attacks in Mozdok that reportedly killed dozens of Russian soldiers.

Menyaylo claimed that the target was the airbase, but said that only minor damage had been caused and that there were no casualties from the attack. As a precaution, Menyaylo said that all public events in the region would be canceled.

Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the alleged attack at the time of this publication. The Kyiv Independent couldn't immediately verify the reports.

Russia has been reporting drone attacks against its border regions for several months, but North Ossetia is significantly farther than the areas where most drone attacks are claimed.

Ukrainian drones have nonetheless struck targets in Russia as far as the Tatarstan Republic, some 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) away from the Russia-Ukraine border.

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The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova