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Summary
- Russia has reported a night of drone attacks on its territory ranging from the south to the northwest
- A strike on Pskov airport, hundreds of miles from the war zone in Ukraine, set two military cargo planes on fire
- Russia’s military says it shot down Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk, Kaluga, Oryol and Ryazan regions
- In recent weeks Ukraine has increased its use of attack drones to strike targets inside Russia
- In the Ukrainian capital Kyiv at least two people were killed during a missile attack blamed on Russia
- Russia also reported hitting Ukrainian assault boats in the Black Sea, killing dozens of soldiers
Which parts of Russia have previously seen drone attacks?
There’s been a lot of activity in the Russian skies over the past two months as Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of carrying out drone strikes on its territory.
According to Russian media reports monitored by BBC Verify, there have been over 160 suspected aerial drone attacks this year in Russia and in Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.
Looking at the map below, which we created based on data up until last week, we can see clusters over areas more commonly targeted in Russia.
Copyright: .Although Ukraine hasn’t claimed responsibility for specific drone strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously said that attacks on Russian territory are an “inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process”.
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Six Russian regions hit overnight
Back to the drone attacks overnight across Russia.
We’ve been getting some insight from our colleague Steve Rosenberg in Moscow who tells BBC Radio 4’s Today programme six regions have been attacked.
“Over the last few hours we have seen a particularly large scale attack,” he adds. “Although it is unclear how much damage has been done.
“People have been posting videos on social media which are pretty dramatic, lighting up the night sky.
“According to reports, drone attacks have continued this morning.
“It follows a pattern, in recent weeks we’ve seen a rise in drone attacks in Russia – often deep inside Russia.”
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‘Most powerful strike’ on Kyiv since spring
Toby Luckhurst
Reporting from Kyiv
Copyright: ReutersAir raid sirens are an all too common sound here in Ukraine. They began last night at around 02:00 local time (00:00 BST), with alerts starting and stopping across different parts of the country as the military tried to gauge where the Russian attacks were aimed.
But at 05:00 (03:00 BST) loud explosions began to boom out over the capital city, as we made our way down to the bomb shelter.
Kyiv’s authorities said more than 20 drones and missiles were destroyed over the city last night, describing the Russian attack as the “most powerful strike” on the capital since the spring.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram that at least two people were killed by falling debris, after air defence intercepted the Russian attacks.
There are also reports of blasts heard in Odesa, Cherkasy and Zhitomyr.
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Dozens of missiles and drone attacks shot down over Kyiv – Ukraine military
Copyright: ReutersUkrainian air defences shot down all 28 Russian missiles and 15 out of 16 drones launched overnight, says General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Fresh images just coming to us from Kyiv show police officers examining part of a missile which landed on the bank next to the Dnipro river.
Ukrainian authorities earlier said at least two people were killed and two wounded in an attack on the capital.
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Russia interrupts another drone attack – regional governor
We’re hearing that Russia is claiming it has thwarted another attack this morning, this time in the Bryansk region,
Governor of the region Aleksandr Bogomaz posted to social media that two drones were intercepted en route to a TV tower.
Bogomaz said there were no injuries and the fire at the site of the downed drones has already been extinguished.
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What do we know about Pskov?
We’ve reported that Russia has seen a night of drone attacks on its territory ranging from the south to the northwest, according to Moscow.
It says a strike on Pskov airport, hundreds of miles from the war zone in Ukraine, set two military cargo planes on fire.
So what do we know about Pskov?
Pskov is a city near to the north-west border of Russia – close to Estonia and Latvia.
It’s around 217 miles (350km) south of St Petersburg and more than 450 miles (700km) from Moscow.
The airport sits on the east side of the city, and serves as a military aircraft hub alongside civilian flights to a select few destinations nearby.
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Pskov airport shut after military planes damaged – reports
Some news just reaching us, Pskov airport in western Russia will be closed to civilian flights today, according to Russia’s air transport agency.
It follows reports coming out of Russia overnight that military cargo planes were damaged at Pskov airport.
According to its website, the airport has limited destinations which include Kalingrad, Moscow, Sochi, Kazan and Minsk.
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Russia’s kamikaze drones rain down on Ukraine’s east
Quentin Sommerville
News correspondent
Copyright: DARREN CONWAY/BBCImage caption: Antonina Semenivna is one of many civilians vulnerable to these attacks The Sbrainskyii forest is alight. At first, it is only a hint on the breeze, the faint smell of wood smoke amid the pine trees. Three men of the 1st Special Purpose Bohun Brigade climb into an armoured Humvee, as the sound of artillery thumps ahead in the distance.
Earlier the brigade’s press officer Taras had warned us: “It’s like Verdun out there.” A reference to the battlefields of World War One.
The sprawling forest lies to the east of the city of Lyman. Here, and stretching north to the city of Kupiansk, the Russians have made modest gains in recent weeks. The threat though, according to the commander of Ukraine’s eastern forces, is considerable.
On social media last week, General Oleksandr Syrskyi warned that Russian forces were regrouping in the east. He claims Russia has marshalled 100,000 troops in the area and more than 900 tanks.
Russia is seeking to cement its control of the eastern regions where it has captured territory, much of which was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in September last year. Moscow’s stated war aim is the “liberation” of Donbas, which is made up of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
But with its greater manpower, it is attempting to also stretch Ukrainian resources, as Kyiv fights a separate offensive in the south of the country.
- To continue reading, head here
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Two dead and one wounded in Kyiv – mayor
Some more information on that overnight attack on Kyiv now.
The Ukrainian capital’s mayor Vitaly Klitschko says two people were killed and another wounded in the latest Russian air attack on the city. He also says several buildings were set on fire by falling debris.
The two people killed were men and were found in a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, Klitschko adds.
More than 20 missiles and drones were “destroyed by air defence forces” overnight, the Kyiv City Military Administration wrote on Telegram, describing the aerial assault as “the most powerful” to hit the city since the spring.
BBC News has not been able to verify these claims – but we will continue to bring you more on this attack as and when we have it.
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What we know about drone attacks in Russia
Jake Horton, Olga Robinson & Daniele Palumbo
Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of carrying out drone strikes on its territory in recent months.
Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for specific drone strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously said that attacks on Russian territory are an “inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process”.
According to Russian media reports monitored by our colleagues at BBC Verify, there have been more than 160 suspected aerial drone attacks this year in Russia and in Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.
There have also been about a dozen sea drone attacks on Russian targets in the Black Sea, including on naval bases and the Crimean bridge.
- Read more on this here (note: this feature is a few days old but we think its contents are still relevant to the current situation in the war)
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What’s been happening?
Copyright: TelegramImage caption: Pskov regional governor Mikhail Vedernikov shared footage of what he said was a drone attack in the city Like we said in our last post, it’s been a hectic night.
Here’s a rundown of what’s been reported in the last few hours – from both sides of the war:
- A drone attack on an airport in the north-western Russian city of Pskov damaged two military Ilyushin 76 transport planes, according to Russian news agencies
- The mayor of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv said two people had been killed and another wounded in the latest Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital. Vitaly Klitschko said several buildings had been set on fire by falling debris from targets destroyed by air defences
- Russia’s military said its forces had destroyed four rapid Ukrainian boats carrying a total of about 50 soldiers in an operation on the Black Sea around midnight Moscow time (21:00 GMT)
- The Russian military said it had downed three Ukrainian drones over the southern region of Bryansk and one over the central region of Oryol
- Russia’s Tass news agency reported that airspace above Moscow’s Vnukovo airport had been closed
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A tense night for Russia and Ukraine
Hello, you join us after a night filled with reports of multiple drone attacks across Russia’s regions and a missile strike on Kyiv which reportedly left two people dead.
Russian state media say an airport in the north-western city of Pskov was hit, damaging two military transport planes.
Ukraine has not said it was involved in the latest attack but it rarely comments on strikes inside Russia. Such attacks have become more common in recent weeks.
Meanwhile the Russian military said its forces had destroyed four rapid Ukrainian boats in an operation on the Black Sea.
None of these reports could be verified independently but they follow a grim pattern more than a year and a half into the war.
It’s just gone 07:00 (04:00 GMT) in both countries and a team of us are here, in London, to fill you in on what you’ve missed. We’ll also guide you through the latest developments as the day goes on – stay with us.
