One of the objects hit by a reportedly Ukrainian drone was a Niva car belonging to the Russian Ministry of Defense; two Russian servicemen were said to be killed
Authorities from five Russian oblasts reported incidents related to artillery shellings and drone attacks from Ukraine on 27 May 2023, with at least three casualties reported, Moscow Times writes.
In the Andreyapol district of Tver Oblast, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fell, but no casualties resulted from the incident, the regional government’s press service reported. The news outlet Baza states, “There were two drones, they flew to a station near the village of Yerokhino that serves the ‘Druzhba’ oil pipeline.”
In the city of Shebekino, Belgorod Oblast, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on his Telegram channel that the city had been subjected to artillery shelling. “Due to the shelling, multi-apartment houses, shops, and private residential houses were damaged. Windows were broken, facades were damaged, and the shells also damaged greenhouses. A fire broke out in one of the garages, which was extinguished, but the car inside was completely burnt. In addition, the power transmission line was damaged,” Gladkov stated.
Another drone was shot down in the village of Popovka, Krasnoyaruzhsky District, added Governor Gladkov. In Kursk Oblast, a builder working on the defensive line of state border fortifications died due to shelling from Ukraine, reported Governor Roman Starovoit.
In Bryansk Oblast, another UAV attack occurred. The drone targeted a Niva vehicle of the Russian Ministry of Defense on the Brovnichi-Sushany road. According to pro-war Russian military correspondents, “Two servicemen died as a result of the attack. The drone pierced the roof of the car and detonated, but there is no official information about the incident yet.”
Earlier in Pskov Oblast, an administrative building of an oil pipeline was damaged as a result of a drone attack. Governor Mikhail Vedernikov reported the incident without specifying the details.
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia on the rise
On 24 May, a number of drone attacks on Belgorod Oblast was reported.
On 15 May, a drone allegedly dropped three munitions on the FSB Border Guard Department building in Glushkovo village in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, injuring five Russian border guards.
On 10 May, drones reportedly hit a Russian military training ground in Voronezh, leaving 14 soldiers injured.
Russia accused Ukraine of conducting a drone strike on the Kremlin on May 3, which Ukrainian officials denied. The US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War suggested that the strike was likely internally staged by Russia to bring the war home to a Russian domestic audience and set conditions for wider societal mobilization.
The UK intelligence assessed Russian air defense as ineffective against Ukrainian attacks.
Modern elevation maps would significantly aid Ukraine’s capabilities to strike objects inside Russia with drones, but these maps have been withheld by its western partners.
