Explosions rocked the area around one of Russia’s largest military hubs before dawn yesterday, and local officials later said that air defenses had shot down two drones. At least one blast was heard in the city of Rostov-on-Don, which is home to Russia’s southern military headquarters and is a command center for its forces in Ukraine.
Vasily Golubev, the regional governor of Rostov, said that after air defenses downed the drones, falling debris damaged cars and buildings, injuring one person. One drone fell in the city center, he said on social media, and another was shot down outside the city in the western part of the region.
Response: As a matter of official policy, the Ukrainian government does not comment on whether it has had a hand in strikes in Russia. But officials in Kyiv have become increasingly vocal in defending such strikes as warranted. In recent days, the airports around Moscow suspended flights nearly every morning because of drone activity.
Russian strikes: For the fourth time in five days, Russia attacked Izmail, a port city on the Danube River, yesterday, according to Oleg Kiper, the head of the region’s military administration. Two people were injured, the local prosecutor’s office said.