UPDATES WITH LATEST SITUATION IN TVER REGION; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; ADDS DETAILS
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Residents in Russia’s Tver region are set to return to their homes after a partial evacuation was ordered by the region’s governor early Wednesday amid an overnight Ukrainian drone attack.
Governor Igor Rudenya said, according to a statement by the regional administration on the Russian social media platform VKontakte, that access to the town of Toropets was reopened as of 12.00 p.m. local time (0900GMT).
He further said that electricity, water and gas supplies to the town are functional.
Earlier, Rudenya announced a partial evacuation from areas where Russian air defenses are operating to "ensure the safety of residents."
The governor said that a fire broke out in Toropets, around 470 kilometers (292 miles) north of the Ukraine border due to debris from the downed Ukrainian drones.
He also said that all emergency services in the region were dispatched to the scene, and the fire is being contained.
No information was given by Rudenya or the regional administration regarding any possible casualties due to the attack.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed in a separate statement that it downed 54 Ukrainian drones during an overnight attack targeting five regions.
Although the Tver region was not mentioned among them, the statement claimed seven drones were downed over the Smolensk region bordering it from the southwest.
Meanwhile, multiple Ukrainian media outlets, including state news agency Ukrinform, reported that the country's State Security Service (SBU) and Special Operations Forces struck a Russian Defense Ministry warehouse in Toropets.
The reports claimed, citing sources from the SBU, that the warehouse was being used to store missiles and artillery ammunition.
However, Kyiv has yet to officially comment on the incident and Russian authorities have not yet reacted to the media reports.