Moscow intercepts 50 Ukrainian drones in an attack that caused fires at Russian power plants

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine launched a barrage of drones against Russia overnight, in attacks that appeared to target the country's energy infrastructure, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said Saturday.

Russian air defenses shot down 50 drones over eight regions, including 26 over the western Belgorod district, close to the Ukrainian border. Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on social media that two people – a woman with a broken leg and the man who was caring for her – died during the attack after explosions caused a fire that affected their home.

In addition, drones were intercepted in the Bryansk, Kursk, Tula, Smolensk, Ryazan and Kaluga regions, in the west and south of the country, as well as in Moscow.

Ukrainian authorities often refuse to comment on attacks on Russian territory. However, it appears that part of the operations was directed against Russian energy infrastructure.

The governor of the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, said on Saturday that one of the devices caused a fire in an electricity substation, while the governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomaz, and Smolensk, Vasily Anokhin, reported fires in fuel and electricity complexes.

In recent months, Russian refineries and oil terminals have become priority targets for Ukrainian drone attacks, as part of its renewed operations in the neighboring country.

Ukrainian drone developers have been expanding the range of weapons for months, as Kiev tries to make up for its shortcomings in weapons and troops on the battlefield. Drones are also an affordable option as Ukraine awaits more US military aid.

A US citizen known to have fought with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine between 2014 and 2017 has died in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region, Moscow said late Friday.

Russell Bentley (64 years old) is no longer involved in military operations and previously worked for the Russian news agency Sputnik. His death was confirmed by his former regiment and Margarita Simonyan, director of the Kremlin-funded RT television station, who described him as a “real American.” His nickname was “Texas” and he spent time in prison on drug trafficking charges before leaving the United States.

There was no further information about Bentley's cause of death at this time, but local police reported him missing on April 8.

In a separate incident, Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with seven missiles, and air defenses shot down two of them and three reconnaissance drones, according to what the Air Force in Kiev announced on Saturday.

Oleh Kiper, the governor of Ukraine's Odessa region, said the ballistic missiles caused damage to infrastructure, but did not provide further details. Other attacks on the Black Sea city on Friday hit port infrastructure, including two food export terminals, according to the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Sinyhopov explained that the Russian bombing claimed the life of a fifty-year-old man in the city of Vovchansk.