Blast in Russian town caused by Ukrainian drone, three hurt: Report

The unmanned aerial vehicle damages three residential buildings, reports TASS news agency

By Reuters

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A Ukrainian serviceman fires with his rifle at a drone flying above their position near Bakhmut. — AFP file
A Ukrainian serviceman fires with his rifle at a drone flying above their position near Bakhmut. — AFP file

Published: Sun 26 Mar 2023, 8:57 PM

A Ukraine-operated drone caused an explosion in the centre of a Russian town on Sunday, hurting three people and damaging three residential buildings, TASS news agency reported, citing a law enforcement source and the emergency services.

Kyiv did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously denied Russian assertions that its drones — also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) — have flown into Russian territory and caused damage to civilian infrastructure.


"A Ukrainian Tu-141 Strizh UAV was the cause of an explosion in the town of Kireyevsk, Tula region," TASS quoted a law enforcement agency source as saying. "The drone was packed with explosives."

The blast occurred in the centre of Kireyevsk, located some 220km south of Moscow.


None of the three people hurt in the explosion are believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries, Russian news agencies reported.

The blast, which occurred at around 3.20pm (1220 GMT), caused a large crater in the heart of Kireyevsk, a local emergency services representative told TASS.

Social media videos and pictures showed a muddy crater near a building with its roof and walls heavily damaged. Shards of glass from broken windows spread across the stairwell of a nearby apartment block.

Reuters could not immediately verify the images.

Russia has previously reported drone attacks in several towns and cities, some of them hundreds of kilometres from its border with Ukraine.

Three Russian airforce personnel died on December 26 when a drone believed to be Ukrainian was shot down at the main base for Russia's strategic bombers near the city of Saratov after flying hundreds of kilometres through Russian airpace.


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