Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) from Ukraine launched an overnight attack in Russia’s Kursk region, damaging a hospital and residential apartment buildings, and injuring at least one person, according to the region’s governor on Friday morning.
Across the border in Ukraine’s Sumy region, the local governor reported renewed fighting in villages near the frontier, where Russian forces are seizing territory. He warned that parts of his region could soon fall under Russian control.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently declared he wants to establish a buffer zone in the Sumy region, which had previously served as a staging ground for Ukrainian incursions into Kursk last year.
In Kursk region—where the Russian military claims it repelled a Ukrainian attack last August—Governor Alexander Khinshtein reported that Ukrainian drones struck the city of Kursk again.
Posting on Telegram, Khinshtein stated: “Drone debris damaged the city’s main hospital. Windows were shattered. Fortunately, no patients were injured.” He added that falling drone parts also damaged high-rise buildings.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military confirmed that its forces continue to operate in small zones within the Kursk region, according to Reuters.
In Sumy, which has suffered repeated Russian assaults in recent months, local authorities this week acknowledged that Russian forces now control at least four border villages.
Governor Oleh Hryhorov posted on Facebook: “Heavy fighting is ongoing in several areas, especially near the villages of Khotyn and Yunakivka.”
On Thursday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced its troops had captured three more villages as they advance slowly through eastern Ukraine.
