Drone attacks on Russian regions have reached a new peak in the past 24 hours, marked by serious destruction in border areas and unexpected domestic turmoil for Moscow.
The situation remains extremely tense as both sides step up their air pressure.
Here are the highlights of the key events so far:
Massive drone attack on Belgorod today
Over the past night and today, the Russian border town Belgorod was subjected to a massive drone strike. According to local emergency services and acting governor Alexander Shuvaev, the number of civilians killed has already risen to five people, and another 25 have been injured, including two children.
The attack caused major fires in two multi-storey residential buildings in the central part of the city, causing material damage to a total of 29 apartment blocks, five private houses and dozens of cars. According to data from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, cited by world agencies, Russian air defense has shot down over 150 Ukrainian drones over the European part of the country, Crimea and the Black Sea.
Serious incident in Kursk region: Man loses limbs
In parallel with the attacks, the border areas remain littered with dangerous munitions. A tragic incident was recorded in the Kursk region, in which a local resident was seriously injured after picking up a mine box from the ground. As a result of the ensuing explosion, the man lost both his legs and one arm. Local authorities once again urged citizens to be extremely vigilant and under no circumstances touch suspicious objects on the street, but to immediately alert the rescue services.
Wave of arrests in Moscow: Drone manufacturer bosses detained
At the same time as heavy air battles are taking place, Russian law enforcement agencies have struck at the internal structure of military production. In Moscow, the Kuzminsky District Court ordered permanent arrest for the former and current heads of the large drone manufacturing company "Drone Solutions" – Irakli Khazaliya and Vyacheslav Barbarov.
The two senior managers are accused of fraud on a particularly large scale, related to the embezzlement of state funds. The company is a key developer of unmanned systems with artificial intelligence and computer vision for law enforcement agencies and state structures in Russia. This is the second major corruption scandal in the sector within two weeks, after the heads of another key company – "Efko" were recently arrested.