Ukrainian drones targeted the city of Millerovo in Russia’s Rostov Oblast overnight on Dec. 24, Yury Slyusar, the local acting governor, said.
Millerovo hosts a military airbase. According to Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's counter-disinformation center, it houses fighter jets that “perform tasks to support Russian infantry operating in the east and south of Ukraine.”
Russian air defense and mobile fire groups had reportedly been repelling the attack since 9 p.m. on Dec. 23. As a result of the strike, eight drones were destroyed, and four more were intercepted by electronic warfare in the Millerovo and Tarasov districts, according to Slyusar.
In a morning report, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that three Ukrainian drones were shot down over Rostov Oblast, and another over Voronezh Oblast. Both regions border Ukraine to the west.
No one was injured in the attack, the acting governor added, but videos posted to social media showed a series of large explosions.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the claims.
Millerovo has been attacked before. A missile was shot down over the city on Dec. 22, the independent news channel Astra reported.
Earlier in December, Ukraine also targeted the Rostov Oblast's Kamensky Combine, one of the largest chemical plants in Russia, with six U.S.-made ATACMS and four British Storm Shadow missiles, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed.
The facility has been sanctioned by the EU, U.K., and U.S. for its role in Russia's war against Ukraine.
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