MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said Ukrainian drones had attacked four separate regions in a flurry of attempted strikes on Sunday, injuring five people and forcing two of Moscow’s airports to briefly divert flights.
Russia’s Kursk, Rostov and Belgorod regions, all of which border Ukraine, reported attempted drone strikes, while Russia’s defence ministry said it had jammed a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region, forcing it to crash in an unpopulated area.
Russia’s aviation watchdog said it had briefly halted flights to the city’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports in response.
The Kursk region’s governor said five people had been injured and a fire had broken out when a drone hit Kursk city’s railway station.
Rostov’s governor said no injuries or damage had occurred.
Later on Sunday, Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had prevented two separate drone strikes on the Belgorod region, the border province most regularly attacked by Ukraine. The local governor said on Telegram that 12 airborne targets had been downed on the approaches to Belgorod city, before later saying only three drones had been shot down.
Ukrainian drone strikes both on border regions and on the Russian capital have become increasingly common in recent months, with repeated strikes on Moscow’s financial district.
Russia said in May that two Ukrainian drones had tried to attack the Kremlin.
Ukraine typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory, although officials have publicly expressed satisfaction over them.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and David Holmes)
