Drones attacked an energy substation in Russia's Rostov Oblast, as well as a substation and oil depot in Volgograd Oblast overnight on July 9, Russian authorities claimed.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian air defense shot down three drones over Belgorod Oblast, two over Voronezh Oblast, five over Astrakhan Oblast, seven over Kursk Oblast, and 21 over Rostov Oblast.
Restrictions have been imposed on the departure and arrival of planes at the Volgograd and Astrakhan airports following the attacks, the state-owned news agency TASS wrote.
Vasiliy Golubev, the Rostov Oblast governor, claimed that two transformers at the substation in the southwest of the region caught fire and were extinguished in the morning. Debris also "fell" in Rostov-on-Don, he added.
Drone wreckage caused fire at an oil depot in the town of Kalach-na-Donu and at a substation in the town of Frolovo in Volgograd Oblast, according to Governor Andrey Bocharov. The fire at the latter site has been put out, he claimed.
The scale of the damage and casualties has not been reported in either region.
The Ukrainian military has not commented on the attacks. The Kyiv Independent could verify the claims.
Ukrainian forces regularly conduct drone strikes and sabotage acts on Russian territory, targeting military assets, oil refineries, and industrial facilities.
A law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent that Ukrainian drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) were behind the attack on Russian "Lukoil-Yugnefteprodukt" in Krasnodar Krai on July 7.
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
