Two people were killed in the southwestern Belgorod region after a Ukrainian drone crashed into their home and set it ablaze, local authorities said Monday.
“First responders found the bodies of two people when arriving at the scene,” Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said around two hours after initially reporting the overnight drone attack.
Gladkov posted a photo of the home, located in Stary Oskol, engulfed in flames and smoke. Stary Oskol is a city of around 220,000 people and lies around 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border with northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defense systems destroyed 22 Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod region between Sunday night and Monday morning. Several drones were also downed in the Krasnodar, Rostov, Kursk, Bryansk and Astrakhan regions, it said.
Authorities in the Krasnodar and Bryansk regions reported damaged property and injuries from the attacks.
At least five airports in southern Russia were temporarily closed during the drone attacks.
Both Ukraine and Russia regularly launch drone and missile attacks at each other’s territory, with officials in Kyiv justifying their strikes as retaliation for Russia’s full-scale invasion and ongoing occupation of Ukrainian territory.
