Two people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in western Russia’s Smolensk region, local officials said Wednesday, as separate strikes in the northern part of the country reportedly wounded several workers.
Smolensk region Governor Vasily Anokhin said the two people were killed in the city of Yartsevo when drone debris crashed into an apartment building and sparked a fire. He did not provide any details about the victims.
The deaths add to the nearly 600 Russian civilians who are estimated to have been killed in Ukrainian attacks since the start of the year, according to Conflict Intelligence Team, an independent war monitoring group.
In the northwestern Leningrad region, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said three workers were wounded when drones targeted the port of Ust-Luga, which serves as a key export hub for Russian oil and grain. He said a fire broke out as a result of the attack.
Further to the north, civil aviation authorities in the Murmansk region temporarily suspended flights at the region’s main airport amid an air raid alert. It was reportedly the first time Murmansk has faced similar air restrictions since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 627 Ukrainian drones across Russia and annexed Crimea between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
As Ukraine and Russia exchanged overnight strikes, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued alerts, urging people to seek shelter after unidentified drones entered or approached their airspace from Russia and Belarus.
Finland introduced partial airspace and maritime restrictions in the eastern Gulf of Finland as a precaution, then lifted them later Wednesday morning.
The overnight attacks come as Russian and Ukrainian delegates gather in Abu Dhabi for a second and final day of U.S.-mediated talks aimed at ending the war.
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