Russia shot down 19 Ukrainian drones over four different regions and the Black Sea overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.
“An attempt by the Kyiv regime to commit a terrorist attack with 19 aerial drones against sites on Russian territory has been thwarted,” the ministry said in a statement.
It said air defense systems intercepted and destroyed drones over the Kursk, Bryansk, Oryol and Krasnodar regions.
The drones shot down in Oryol, some 300 kilometers southwest of Moscow, targeted energy infrastructure, according to regional governor Andrei Klychkov.
In Krasnodar, emergency services said a fire erupted overnight at an oil refinery in Ilsky, without specifying if the blaze was caused by the drone attack.
In recent months, Ukraine has increased drone and missile strikes against Russian territory, mainly targeting border regions, but also the capital Moscow and the northern city of Saint Petersburg.
The deadliest such attack occurred in the city of Belgorod on Dec. 30, when 25 people were killed and some 100 others wounded.