Russia’s Lipetsk region has been struck by a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack, according to its governor, as Ukraine’s cross-border assault into Russia shows no sign of easing.
At least nine people were wounded in the attack, which damaged energy infrastructure and prompted the temporary evacuation of residents in several areas, Lipetsk governor Igor Artamonov wrote Friday on Telegram.
The reported strike comes after Russia accused Ukrainian troops of crossing the border into its Kursk region on Wednesday, which marked the first incursion of its kind from Ukraine and put pressure on Moscow in an area largely untroubled by more than two years of war.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the offensive for the first time, saying Moscow must “feel” the consequences of its brutal invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia brought the war to our land, and it should feel what it has done,” Zelensky said in his evening address, without directly referencing the assault.
A Ukrainian source with knowledge of Friday’s attack on Lipetsk – which lies even deeper into Russian territory than Kursk – said it struck an airfield in the region, destroying an ammunition depot with more than 700 guided bombs, in a joint operation involving its military, security service and special operation forces.
