Moscow, Aug 24 (IANS) Two children were killed and seven others wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s southwestern city of Krasnodar, Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said Monday.
“Drone debris fell on a private children’s center in Krasnodar. Sadly, two children died. My deepest condolences to their families,” he said on social media platform Max. “Seven other children were injured and are now receiving all necessary medical care. Two adults are also in city hospitals.”
The governor said that the overnight attack damaged residential buildings, apartment blocks under construction, and warehouse facilities, Xinhua news agency reported.
Russia’s major e-commerce marketplace Ozon reported that its logistics center in Krasnodar was also hit Sunday night. Employees were evacuated, with no casualties reported so far, and warehouse intake operations have been suspended.
It was the third strike on Ozon’s warehouse facilities this year. The first was on Saturday at the company’s Samara warehouse, followed by another on Sunday at a facility in Orenburg.
Previously, Ukrainian drones had targeted only facilities operated by another major Russian marketplace, Wildberries.
Meanwhile, Russian air defence system intercepted and shot down 269 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions in 12 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
“During the day, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Moscow time, air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 269 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones,” the ministry said in a statement.
A day earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that over the past 40 days, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had persistently launched attacks on Russian civilian and logistics facilities using missiles and drones, which he described as “another gamble” by Ukraine and its Western backers aimed at inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.
Putin said that Russian troops were not only continuing offensives along all fronts but also stepping up military pressure, and expressed confidence in accomplishing the goals of the special military operation.
–IANS
int/rs
