Ukrainian drones kill one person, damage two empty oil tankers, Russia says

MOSCOW - Ukraine’s overnight drone attacks on Russia killed one person and damaged numerous industrial sites and two empty oil tankers, local authorities said on July 8.

The governor of Russia’s Saratov region, Roman Busargin, said on a Telegram channel that one person was killed, civilian industrial sites were damaged and several people were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack.

Yury Slyusar, the governor of the southern Rostov region, said on Telegram that two tankers were damaged in the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov. He said the vessels, which were en route to Rostov-on-Don, were empty.

The governor added that two people were slightly injured.

Ukrainian drones attacked a dozen tankers from Russia’s “shadow fleet” that were delivering fuel to Crimea over the past several days, according to Ukrainian military.

The Sea of Azov is a key supply route for Russian forces in Crimea and other Russian-controlled parts of southern Ukraine.

A “massive” drone attack targeted the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk in the central region of Tatarstan, the city mayor, Radmir Belyayev, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia’s defence ministry said it downed 415 Ukrainian drones in the past 12 hours.

Ukraine has been stepping up a campaign of drone strikes against Russian oil refineries in recent weeks.

Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the war, now in its fifth year, causing widespread power outages and wintertime heating shortages. REUTERS