Russia says Ukrainian drone attack caused fire at 'military facility' in Volgograd region

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - A fire broke out at a military facility in Russia’s Volgograd region due to an overnight Ukrainian drone attack that targeted multiple regions of the country, local authorities said on Thursday.

“Tonight, the air defense forces of the (Russian) Ministry of Defense repelled an attack by a drone on the territory of the Volgograd region in the area of ​​Marinovka,” Governor Andrey Bocharov said in a statement shared by the region’s administration on Telegram.

Marinovka is a settlement located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Volgograd city, and around 270 kilometers (167 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The settlement is said to host an airfield housing Russian military aircraft. Claiming that most of the drones were shot down, Bocharov said a fire broke out in the territory of a “defense ministry facility” due a drone crashing in the area, and local services began work on extinguishing the fire.

He added that there were no casualties due to the overnight attack.

Roman Gorbaty, the head of the region’s Kalachyovsky district, said on Telegram that windows were broken in some apartments in the settlement of Oktyabrsky, around 4.6 kilometers (2.8 miles) southwest of ​​Marinovka.

“To ensure the safety of residents of the Oktyabrsky settlement, buses were prepared, and shelter areas designated ... [but] Due to the lack of need, no evacuation was carried out,” he added.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed in a statement that it intercepted 28 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions during an overnight attack, including 13 drones over the Volgograd region.

The statement said the remaining 15 drones were shot down over Rostov, Belgorod, Voronezh, Bryansk, and Kursk regions.

Russian state news agency TASS initially said restrictions were introduced on the arrival and departure of flights at Volgograd Airport, later saying that the airport resumed operations.

Multiple Ukrainian media outlets, citing sources from the Security Service (SBU), said the SBU and the Special Operations Forces carried out the attack.