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Russian authorities declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in a city on the border with Ukraine after it was attacked by Ukrainian drones, damaging several buildings and injuring a child.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that its air defense systems destroyed 5 drones and intercepted 3 others overnight over the city of Voronezh on the border with Ukraine.

The ministry said in a post published on its Telegram account that Russian air defense intercepted 4 other drones in the Belgorod region.

Vadim Kistinin, mayor of Voronezh, said authorities evacuated residents of one of the city's apartment buildings after a drone wreckage fell on top of it, setting the building on fire and shattering its windows.

He also reported that windows of other buildings were shattered and an 11-year-old girl was injured when a drone wreckage crashed on another building in the city, which lies about 250 km from the border with Ukraine and is home to more than a million people.

Air Base

Russian media report that there is a Russian air base near the city of Voronezh where some Sukhoi Su-34 warplanes are stationed, and Russia often uses bomber aircraft during its air strikes on Ukraine.

Some Russian media reported hearing about 15 explosions near the Russian air base, and indicated that some of the wreckage of drones fell near one of the city's residential buildings, while Ukraine did not comment on the attack.

The Ukrainian Air Force announced in a statement on Monday that it had shot down two Russian planes over the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, noting that the two planes were on a mission to detect long-range radars of Ukrainian forces.

It said it had destroyed a Russian Beriev A-50 spy plane used to detect long-range radars and an Ilyushin LL-22 airborne command and control aircraft in the Sea of Azov region, representing "a blow to Russian military operations in occupied southern Ukraine."

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, which requires Kiev to abandon plans to join NATO, which the latter considers an "interference" in its sovereignty.

Source: Reuters