Russia repels drone attack in Volgograd region; power, rail services disrupted

Russian air defence intercepted a major drone attack in the Volgograd region. While there were no casualties, infrastructure was damaged, causing power outages and train delays. Russia claims Ukraine has recently targeted civilians with drones and shelling

Moscow: Russian air defence forces repelled a large-scale drone attack targeting Volgograd region’s transport and energy infrastructure overnight, regional authorities said Monday.

“There were no casualties,” Volgograd Governor Andrey Bocharov said in a post on social media. Bocharov said that debris from intercepted drones damaged a high-voltage power line, disrupting electricity supply to the town of Ilovlya and nearby settlements. Emergency repair crews have been dispatched to restore power.

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In the town of Frolovo, a fire erupted at a technical building in the Archeda railway station, prompting temporary train suspensions as explosive ordnance disposal teams neutralised an unexploded drone that had landed on the tracks, Xinhua news agency reported.

Six trains, including Moscow and St Petersburg-bound long-distance services, were delayed due to the incident, Russian Railways’ Privolzhskaya branch confirmed. Yesterday, Russian air defence forces destroyed and intercepted 41 Ukrainian drones in multiple regions in less than four hours.

The drones were downed between 8 pm and 11:25 pm Moscow time by air defence systems on duty, the statement said. Last Thursday, Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out deliberate attacks targeting civilians, stating that seven people have been killed and over 120 wounded, including 11 minors, by shelling and UAV strikes over the past week.

“On July 16, a woman was killed when an enemy drone struck a private home in the village of Smorodino; In the village of Novostroevka-Pervaya, a UAV attacked a combine harvester working in the field, injuring the driver; In the villages of Pritsepilovka and Novaya Tavolzhanka, three people were injured as a result of drone strikes,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Thursday.

“Between July 17–22, drones were used against five passenger cars on the roads of the region, killing one person and injuring six civilians. On July 20, two people were injured in a shelling and a UAV attack in the city of Shebekino; a woman was injured in the village of Togobiyevka. On July 22, an enemy shell completely destroyed a residential building in the village of Ilek-Penkovka, injuring a woman and two teenagers,” she added. Zakharova noted that the Ukrainian armed forces continue to target unarmed Russian people who are engaged in their daily affairs.