Russia has shot down 112 drones from Ukraine over the past 24 hours, Interfax news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying.
In an overnight drone attack, Russia also hit Ukrainian port infrastructure which was being used for military purposes, and damaged four power facilities in Odesa in southern Ukraine.
The attack left more than 29,000 Ukrainian residents without power on Sunday, Reuters quoted the region’s governor and power firm DTEK as saying.
Ukraine’s Odesa, Chernihiv regions hardest hit in drone attack
The Ukrainian military said that Russia had fired 142 drones towards the country overnight, adding that the Ukraine air defence forces managed to down 126 of them. However, the drones hit 10 locations in Ukraine.
The military did not provide any further details about the drone strikes.
The port city of Chornomorsk, located just outside of Odesa, suffered the most damage, with both residential and administrative buildings being hit, the governor of the broader Odesa region Oleh Kiper said on Telegram messaging app, according to Reuters.
Kiper said that while the city had lost power, critical infrastructure was running on generators. One person was killed in the Russian drone attack, the governor said.
The Russian drones also hit the northern Chernihiv region in Ukraine on Sunday morning, damaging the energy infrastructure and leaving at least 30,000 households without electricity, local governor Viacheslav Chaus said. The strikes also affected part of the city of Nizhyn.
The reports have not been independently verified.
Russia’s intensified attacks on Ukraine
Russia has stepped up attacks on the energy and gas infrastructure in Ukraine in the recent weeks, Reuters reported. Following Russia’s attacks, Ukraine has retaliated by striking the Russian oil refineries and pipelines.
From the beginning of the conflict in February, 2022, Russia has continuously targeted critical infrastructure in Ukraine, hitting power facilities during the drone attack in the past 24 hours.
“As soon as the energy workers receive permission from the military and rescue services, they will immediately begin inspecting the equipment and carrying out emergency repair work,” Ukraine’s largest power company DTEK said.
