Moscow, Oct 18 (IANS) Multiple Russian regions came under drone attacks from Saturday night to Sunday morning, with Russian air defence forces shooting down over 1,000 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.
The ministry said Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia’s Belgorod, Bryansk, Leningrad and Moscow regions, as well as over the Black Sea. TASS news agency described the drone assault as one of the largest strikes this year.
Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg, was hit by a drone attack in the early hours of Sunday, leaving one person dead and five others injured, said St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said take-offs and landings were suspended at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, with passengers and staff evacuated to safe zones.
Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko wrote on social media that 144 drones were shot down across the region on Sunday morning. Falling drone debris damaged an apartment block, a private house and power lines, triggering power outages in some local areas.
The ministry added that the Russian armed forces kept targeting Ukrainian logistics hubs, ports and vessels. A logistics center used for storing and distributing drone components and other goods was damaged. Separately, Russian forces struck a dry-cargo ship carrying dual-use goods 30 km east of the port of Odessa.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that the Trump administration had deliberately restricted satellite internet services used by Ukrainian drones, rejecting allegations of American interference while acknowledging that Kyiv was seeking access to a separate US military communications system for strikes deep inside Russia.
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Rubio sought to distinguish between Starlink, the commercial satellite communications network operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and Starshield, its military-oriented counterpart used by the United States.
Rubio’s answer in response to a question came amid growing concern in Ukraine over restrictions affecting satellite connectivity for high-speed drones, which Kyiv relies upon for battlefield operations and defence against Russian aerial attacks.
“No one at the White House ordered anyone to slow down internet or slow down speed so that certain drones couldn’t use it,” Rubio said.
–IANS
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