MOSCOW: Russia on Saturday evacuated 1,200 people from a southern village after a Ukrainian drone strike caused a huge explosion, following a similar attack in the west of the country.
Ukraine regularly hits Russian infrastructure with drone strikes as Moscow’s offensive drags on for more than two and a half years.
The governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev, announced the evacuation of hundreds of people after a drone attack had caused a fire that “spread to explosive objects” near the city of Tikhoretsk.
Videos on social media showed a massive explosion in the dark resembling fireworks at first before blowing up loudly, with online reports that an ammunition depot was struck.
Russia says downed over 100 Ukrainian drones
Kondratyev called it a “terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime” and said an unnamed village near the fire had been evacuated, with most people staying with relatives but others placed in temporary accommodation in Tikhoretsk.
Videos on social media later showed sirens ringing around the city of some 50,000 people in the daylight, with smoke rising into the air in the distance.
AFP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the images.
Krasnodar is separated from occupied Ukraine by the Azov Sea and had been relatively spared from the type of attacks on Russian border or other southern regions, but has seen increased attacks over the last year.
Authorities in the western Tver region also announced a night-time drone attack near the city of Toropets, which lies in the western part of the region.
The governor of the region, Igor Rudenya, said the “consequences of falling debris” from the attack were being “cleared”.
He said there was no evacuation in Toropets but announced a temporary closure of the federal M-9 highway, promising it will reopen soon.
The attack also caused some disruption on passenger trains, with railway services saying a train going from Moscow to the western city of Pskov was sent on an alternative route, while another train was delayed.
Russia’s defence ministry earlier said it had downed 101 Ukrainian drones, mostly over the border Bryansk region and 18 over Krasnodar.
Russia has recently announced shooting down Ukrainian drones almost daily.