Ukrainian drones target 16 Russian regions amid elections, Moscow claims
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A total of 344 Ukrainian drones were shot down over 16 Russian regions and the Black Sea overnight on Sept. 19, Russia's Defense Ministry said.
Ukraine has not commented on the attacks yet.
The reported attack came as Russia began three days of voting on Sept. 18 for the 450-seat State Duma, the lower house of parliament, for the first time since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine.
The regions targeted by Ukraine include Moscow, Leningrad, Novgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Oryol, Kaluga, Tula, Ryazan, Lipetsk, Vladimir, and Rostov oblasts, Krasnodar Krai, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, and the Republic of Dagestan.
Meanwhile, the Black Sea resort of Sochi temporarily closed access to beaches and the waterfront over the threat of a Ukrainian sea drone attack, the city's Mayor Andrey Proshunin said on Sept. 19.
Sochi has increasingly come under Ukrainian drone attacks over the past year, with strikes on its port and an oil depot reported in September alone. The city is around 650-700 kilometers (400-435 miles) from the Ukrainian border in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region.
Proshunin said rescuers and security personnel were using loudspeakers to warn people of the threat of a sea drone attack.
Voting in Sochi was suspended on the first day of elections, Sept. 18, with polling stations closed amid a reported threat of a Ukrainian drone attack.
