Three injured as Russia downs Ukrainian drone south of Moscow

The blast occurred in the center of Kireyevsk, located some 220 km (140 miles) south of Moscow.

 A rescuer works at a site of a building heavily damaged by Russian drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Rzhyshchiv, in Kyiv region, Ukraine March 22, 2023 (photo credit: REUTERS/ALINA YARYSH)
A rescuer works at a site of a building heavily damaged by Russian drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Rzhyshchiv, in Kyiv region, Ukraine March 22, 2023
(photo credit: REUTERS/ALINA YARYSH)

Russian air defenses halted a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian town on Sunday in which three people were hurt and apartment blocks were damaged, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Kyiv did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously denied Russian assertions that its drones - also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) - have flown into Russian territory and caused damage to civilian infrastructure.

The Defense Ministry statement said the attack on the town of Kireyevsk, in the Tula region 220 km (140 miles) south of Moscow, involved a Ukrainian Tu-141 Strizh drone.

“A Polye-21 electronic unit took action against the Ukrainian drone, and as a result its navigation system was taken out of action.”

Russian Defense Ministry

"A Polye-21 electronic unit took action against the Ukrainian drone, and as a result its navigation system was taken out of action," the ministry statement said.

Tupolev Tu-141 Strizh Soviet reconnaissance drone on display at the Ukrainian State Aviation Museum in Kyiv (credit: VargaA/CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Tupolev Tu-141 Strizh Soviet reconnaissance drone on display at the Ukrainian State Aviation Museum in Kyiv (credit: VargaA/CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

"The drone lost its directional command and fell near the town of Kireyevsk in Tula region."

Tass news agency quoted local officials as saying three people were hurt in the incident, but there were no serious injuries. It said five private homes were damaged.

Tupolev Tu-141 UAV (credit: KABOLDY/CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Tupolev Tu-141 UAV (credit: KABOLDY/CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

The blast, which occurred at around 3.20 pm (1220 GMT), caused a large crater in the heart of Kireyevsk, a local emergency services representative told TASS.

Social media videos and pictures showed a muddy crater near a building with its roof and walls heavily damaged. Shards of glass from broken windows spread across the stairwell of a nearby apartment block.

Reuters could not immediately verify the images.

Russia has previously alleged that Ukraine launched drone attacks

Russia has previously reported drone attacks in several towns and cities, some hundreds of kilometers (miles) from its border with Ukraine.


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Three Russian air force personnel died on Dec. 26 when a drone believed to be Ukrainian was shot down at the main base for Russia's strategic bombers near the city of Saratov after flying hundreds of kilometers through Russian airspace.