A Ukrainian drone strike overnight damaged critical infrastructure in Russia’s southern Volgograd region, igniting a fire at a railway station and causing disruptions to both rail and air traffic, local authorities said Monday.
According to regional governor Andrei Bocharov, a drone attack hit a power line and sparked a fire at a building near the Archeda train station. Another unexploded drone was reportedly found on the railway tracks nearby. The incident led to delays of several regional trains, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
The regional airport in Volgograd, the administrative centre of the region, suspended operations for several hours before resuming flights at around 03:00 GMT, Russia’s civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia confirmed via Telegram.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its air defense systems shot down a total of 61 Ukrainian drones overnight, including six over the Volgograd region. However, the ministry did not specify how many drones Ukraine had launched.
Governor Bocharov described the attack as “massive” and said it targeted the region’s energy and transport infrastructure. The full extent of the damage has not yet been confirmed, and no casualties were reported as of Monday morning.
Ukraine has not commented on the incident. Kyiv has repeatedly targeted infrastructure inside Russia that it considers essential to Moscow’s war effort, including in regions near the Ukrainian border such as Volgograd.
Reuters noted that it could not independently verify the Russian reports. The strike marks the latest in a series of escalating cross-border attacks as the war, now in its third year, continues to spill beyond Ukraine’s frontlines.
Written By Rodney Mbua
