26 injured as Moscow downs 774 Ukrainian drones in 24 hours

 MOSCOW: Ukrainian drone attacks overnight injured 26 people in Russia's Moscow Oblast, regional governor Andrei Vorobyov said Saturday.

Two people were injured in the city of Noginsk, about 55 kilometers east of Moscow, where debris from a downed drone caused a fire at an oil depot, Vorobyov said in a statement posted on social media.

The other 24 were injured after a drone crashed onto the premises of a warehouse in the city of Elektrostal, about 60 kilometers east of Moscow, he said, adding that some of the injured are in serious condition.

A maternity hospital and an apartment building close to the oil depot in Noginsk were evacuated as a precaution. All patients and medical staff were transferred to other medical facilities, while women requiring specialized care were sent to hospitals in nearby cities.

The Bogorodsky urban district, about 45 kilometers east of Moscow, reportedly suffered the most severe damage, the governor said.

Forty-eight Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defense forces in the Moscow region overnight, he said. ■

 774 Ukrainian drones shot down in past 24 hours

Meanwhile, Russian air defense systems have shot down 774 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones and 13 guided aerial bombs over the past 24 hours, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Saturday.

The ministry said Russian forces had carried out another overnight round of strikes using air-launched precision-guided weapons and attack drones against Ukrainian military-related targets.

It said the strikes hit port infrastructure at the Port of Odesa used for unloading fuel and lubricants, as well as fuel storage facilities intended to support the Ukrainian armed forces.

The ministry added that a container ship unloading ammunition at the Port of Chornomorsk in Ukraine's Odesa region was also struck. Russian forces also targeted a dry cargo vessel near Snake Island in the Black Sea that was transporting supplies for the Ukrainian military.