A 70-year-old woman was killed and two others were wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike in the central Lipetsk region early Thursday, with authorities in Kyiv saying they targeted a Russian military battery manufacturing plant.
Lipetsk region Governor Igor Artamonov said the woman died and the others were wounded from falling debris, not far from the regional capital.
In the nearby city of Yelets, he said workers were evacuated from an “enterprise” after a falling drone sparked a fire in the parking lot. No one was injured there.
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, claimed the target of the drone attack in Yelets was the Energia battery manufacturing plant. Energia allegedly produces batteries for Russian drones and missiles, including the Iskander ballistic missile system.
The independent Telegram news channel Astra shared images and videos of the attack’s aftermath, showing black smoke near what was said to be the plant.
Energia is under U.S., EU and other Western sanctions. Yelets and Energia were previously said to be targeted in at least three Ukrainian drone strikes in May.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defense systems had shot down 69 Ukrainian drones over four regions and annexed Crimea overnight. It said 10 of the drones were repelled over the Lipetsk region.
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