Two Dead as Ukrainian Drone Attacks Hit Russian Border Regions, Sites Damaged
Overview of Recent Drone Attacks and Their Impact
July 3 (Reuters) - At least two people were killed in Russia's border regions and several industrial sites suffered damage during Ukrainian drone attacks overnight, local authorities and media said on Friday.
Ukraine's Strategy and Its Effects on Russia
Ukraine has pounded Russia's energy infrastructure for months in efforts to cripple Moscow's military might. The attacks have led to fuel shortages across Russia, the world's largest country.
Russian Government's Response
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the attacks are meant to sow discord among the public.
Casualties and Damage in Ukraine and Russia
Ukrainian Casualties
Separately, Ukrainian officials said on Telegram that four people were killed and a further 10 people were injured in Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine.
Russian Casualties and Disruptions
Belgorod Region
Valentin Demidov, the mayor of Russia's western city of Belgorod, said a woman had died in a car after being injured by shrapnel.
He said water and power supplies in the city, which is about 40 km (25 miles) north of the border with Ukraine, had been disrupted.
Earlier on Friday, Vesti news channel, citing local officials, said an industrial facility had caught fire after Ukraine attacked Belgorod and its surroundings with missiles.
Bryansk Region
Egor Kovalchuk, the acting governor of Bryansk, another Russian border region, said a man had died in a village following a kamikaze drone attack.
Smolensk Region
Fire also broke out at an industrial site in the western Smolensk region following a drone attack there, though no one was hurt, the local governor, Vasily Anokhin, wrote on Telegram.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Jekaterīna Golubkova in Tokyo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Gareth Jones)
