(Reuters) -Russian defence units destroyed 83 Ukrainian drones over the country’s southern Krasnodar region in an overnight attack that damaged several houses including in the Black Sea port of Tuapse, Russian officials said on Wednesday.
The Russian defence ministry said in a statement that a total of 128 Ukrainian drones were downed over the Russian territory. The ministry does not report potential damage or the full scope of the Ukrainian attacks.
Krasnodar’s Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that three residential houses were damaged throughout the region, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
A house in Tuapse caught fire but that has since been extinguished, Sergei Boiko, head of the Tuapse municipality, said on Telegram.
He added that the work of air defence systems continued.
Russia’s SHOT news Telegram channel reported that Ukrainian drones appeared to be aimed at the port area and that residents heard about 40 explosions in what they said sounded like air defence systems in operation.
Reuters could not independently verify the SHOT report. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Tuapse is home to Russia’s biggest oil refinery on the Black Sea which has been targeted by Ukrainian drones several times since the start of the war that Moscow launched against its smaller neighbour three years ago.
Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said on Telegram that the nearby international airport of Sochi, some 150 km (93 miles) southeast of Tuapse, was closed to air traffic as of 2247 GMT Tuesday to ensure air safety.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
