A Ukrainian drone attack wounded a 6-year-old boy and a young girl in Voronezh, Russia, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency. Russia’s defense ministry reported that five Ukrainian drones were destroyed by air defenses over the Voronezh region, and three more were intercepted. In addition, four drones were intercepted over the Belgorod region.
The mother of the injured 6-year-old boy, Yelena Fedyainova, described the attack, which occurred around 2:30 a.m. as causing a loud blast and breaking the window of their apartment. She recalls grabbing her child and dealing with shards and smoke. A 10-year-old girl was also injured in the same attack.
Voronezh, a city of over 1 million people, is approximately 155 miles from the Ukraine border. The city’s mayor, Vadim Kstenin, declared a state of emergency to address the impact of the attack.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine regarding the incident.
Reports from Russian media indicated that Russia has an air base near Voronezh, which houses some Sukhoi Su-34s bombers. Russian media noted that the fighter-bomber aircraft are frequently deployed during air strikes on Ukraine. In response to the attack, at least 1 blasts near the air base were reported with some drone debris falling nearby onto an apartment building. However, these reports could not be independently verified by Reuters.