Ukrainian drones hit Russian airfield, oil depot

A Ukrainian serviceman of the 225th Separate Assault Battalion patrols as he walks past an apartment building destroyed by an airstrike in the town of Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, on July 24, 2024. [AFP]

Ukrainian drones targeted a military airfield and oil depot in Russia, a defence source in Kyiv said on Saturday after Moscow reported repelling the latest aerial barrage.

Kyiv has stepped up aerial attacks on Russian territory, saying it carries out the strikes in retaliation to the bombardments Ukraine has faced since Russia invaded over two years ago.

"Last night, drones from Ukraine's Security Service visited the Morozovsk airfield in the Rostov region" that stored aircraft and guided aerial bombs, the source said.

"Ukrainian drones did a great job, hitting the aviation ammunition depot," the source added.

Russia has launched over 600 guided air bombs on Ukraine in one week alone, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"Russian combat aircraft must be destroyed where they are, by all means that are effective. Striking at Russian airfields is also quite fair," he said on social media.

Russian officials did not address claims regarding the destroyed airfield, but local governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram that authorities introduced a state of emergency in the district of Morozovsk.

"At the moment we have recorded damage to the windows in several social facilities, including schools and kindergartens, as well as in residential houses and industrial premises," Golubev said on Telegram.

The source in the Ukrainian defence sector also said its forces hit a fuel warehouse in the Kamensky district of the Rostov region, where Russian officials earlier reported a drone attack set fire to oil tanks.

Moscow did not address the specific claim but the Russian defence ministry said it destroyed at least 76 drones launched by Kyiv, including 36 over the border region of Rostov and 17 in the Oryol region.

Russian air defence disabled eight and nine drones respectively over the regions of Kursk and Belgorod, also bordering Ukraine.

Kyiv has stepped up strikes on Russian territory this year, targeting towns and villages just across the border, as well as energy sites that it says fuel Russia's assault.

On Saturday, Kyiv said it had faced several missiles and 29 drones, out of which 24 drones were destroyed.

Local officials in the central region of Vinnytsia said the attacks damaged infrastructure, without giving more details.