Ukraine on Sunday claimed to have sent more than 100 drones deep inside Russia to hit a major weapons depot, as Kyiv ups its attacks further inside Russian territory.
“Defense forces struck the Kotluban military depot” in the Volgograd region, hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border, a day after a shipment of Iranian weapons reportedly arrived at the site, the Ukrainian military general staff wrote on Telegram.
“A fire and ammunition detonation were observed on the depot’s territory,” said the post, adding that the facility was being used for storage and the modernization of missiles and artillery.
Russia did not confirm the strike but reported that it had destroyed 67 drones overnight over the Volgograd region.
A Ukrainian defense sector source told media that 120 drones flew more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) to target the depot early on Sunday.
“As a result of the hit, ammunition and missile storage sites were damaged, which will lead to a shortage of ammunition for units of Russia’s occupation army,” the source said.
Western governments have accused Iran of supplying both drones and missiles to Moscow for its war on Ukraine, a charge Tehran has repeatedly denied.
“Several explosions were recorded in the area of Kotluban, the location of a depot of the defense ministry’s main missile and artillery directorate,” Russian military blogger Rybar wrote, adding that “serious destruction” had been avoided.
Volgograd region Governor Andrei Bocharov said falling debris from the drones sparked grass fires but no casualties or damage.
Volgograd news sites cited locals as saying the drone attack lasted around two hours and prompted some to flee their homes, and that it was not the first time the area had been targeted by such operations.
Russia’s defense ministry on Sunday said its air defenses had destroyed and intercepted a total of 125 Ukrainian drones over its territory overnight.
The onslaught was the largest Ukrainian drone attack since President Vladimir Putin last week announced changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine to allow a nuclear response to a massive cross-border drone attack.
Russian regional governors reported some damage but no casualties from the attack.
Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev said several drones had fallen on the regional capital, causing fires in two residential buildings.
Another 18 drones were destroyed over the Rostov region, with governor Vasily Golubev saying on Telegram that the downed devices had sparked a forest fire.
Unmanned aerial vehicles were also intercepted over the Bryansk and Kursk regions, the Krasnodar region close to Crimea and over the Sea of Azov, Russia’s defense ministry said.
Moscow recently announced it had been shooting down Ukrainian drones almost daily in response to what Kyiv says are retaliatory strikes for the offensive Russia launched in February 2022.
