Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine’s security services have confirmed a series of long-distance drone strikes on Russian territory, which they say hit key military and industrial targets. The attacks, which occurred on Friday night, reportedly resulted in three deaths and two injuries on the Russian side.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) stated that its drones targeted a military airfield in the southwestern Russian town of Primorsko-Akhtarsk. The strikes caused a fire in an area where Iranian-built Shahed drones—a crucial part of Russia’s arsenal for attacking Ukraine—were stored.
Another strike, according to the SBU, hit the Elektropribor company in Russia’s southern Penza region. The SBU described the company as a key part of Russia’s “military-industrial complex,” involved in manufacturing military digital networks, aviation devices, armored vehicles, and ships. The governor of the Penza region, Oleg Melnichenko, reported on Telegram that this attack resulted in the death of one woman and injuries to two other people.
Russia’s defense ministry, in turn, claimed that its air-defense systems had destroyed 112 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory between Friday night and Saturday morning, with 34 of them intercepted over the Rostov region.
Russian authorities also reported casualties from the drone attacks. In the Samara region, governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev announced that an elderly man was killed inside a house that caught fire from falling drone debris. In the Rostov region, acting governor Yuri Sliusar confirmed that a guard at an industrial facility died after a drone attack led to a fire.
These strikes are part of a wider trend in the conflict, with both sides making heavy use of unmanned aerial vehicles. An AFP analysis published on Friday indicated that Russia launched an unprecedented 6,297 drones in July, many of which were decoys designed to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defense systems.
On the front lines, Russia has claimed recent advances in Ukraine’s central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, asserting the capture of two villages. Kyiv, however, denies any Russian presence in the area. In Dnipropetrovsk, Russian drone attacks on Friday night wounded three people and damaged several buildings, homes, and cars, according to governor Sergiy Lysak.
The diplomatic landscape remains complex. Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his desire for peace on Friday but insisted on “unchanged” demands, including that Ukraine abandon territory and cease its ambitions to join NATO. In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his call for a meeting between the two leaders, stating that Ukraine and the United States were ready for such a dialogue, and only Russia’s willingness was needed.