Ukrainian strike kills 1, wounds 3 in southern Russia

MOSCOW: A Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and wounded at least three others in southern Russia, a regional official said Saturday, with nearly 100 people fighting to extinguish a fire caused by the strike.

The attack damaged port installations in the Temryuk district on the Sea of Azov, near the Kerch Strait separating mainland Russia from the Crimean peninsula, which has been occupied by Moscow since 2014.

“As a result of falling drone debris, a fire broke out at a maritime terminal… one person was killed,” Krasnodar Krai governor Veniamin Kondratyev posted on Telegram.

He added that at least three people were wounded, according to first reports, and that 96 people had been drafted to fight the blaze.

The Russian army said it had shot down a total of 177 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Ukraine has stepped up its campaign of attacks within Russia in recent months, claiming fair retaliation for Moscow’s own massive bombardments across the more than four-year-long conflict.

Kyiv insists that the Ukrainian army first and foremost targets military installations and energy infrastructure in a bid to deprive the Kremlin’s war chest of vital fossil fuel revenues.