Ukrainian drone strike injures 10, causes damage in Russia’s Saratov region: Governor

Yasin Gungor and Burc Eruygur

A Ukrainian drone strike caused damage to civilian infrastructure and resulted in at least 10 injuries in southwestern Russia, a local official said Tuesday.

Saratov Governor Roman Busargin said on Telegram that a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) threat was detected early Tuesday. Busargin confirmed that the drone attack caused damage to several houses in Saratov, which is located along the Volga River.

“Ten people, including three children, were injured. All received necessary medical care. Six people were hospitalized; their lives are not in danger,” Busargin stated.

According to local media reports, Ukrainian drones targeted and struck the Saratov Oil Refinery overnight. Footage on social media, subsequently analyzed by independent monitoring groups, reportedly showed fires at the industrial facility, though neither authorities nor the Ukrainian side have officially confirmed the strike.

In the Rostov region in southern Russia, Governor Yury Slyusar said that around 100 drones were destroyed overnight across 10 districts, including Chertkovsky and Morozovsky. Slyusar said that falling drone debris ignited a grass fire in the Chertkovsky District, which emergency workers extinguished, reporting no injuries.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed in a statement that its air defenses shot down 384 Ukrainian drones overnight over 14 regions, as well as over the Black Sea, and Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

Independent verification of the claims remains difficult due to the ongoing war, while Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the overnight strikes.

The strikes mark a continuation of hostilities amid the Russia-Ukraine war. A three-day pause in strikes on Moscow and Kyiv until Monday evening had been declared while US envoys visited both countries’ capitals over the weekend for peace talks.

Moscow and Kyiv have increasingly targeted each other’s logistics centers, as well as port and energy infrastructure, in recent months.

Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, maintaining their strikes are directed at military targets or facilities linked to military activities.