Ukraine launches UAV strike on Russia's Voronezh: reports

Ukraine has struck Russia's southern Voronezh city with drones, damaging several buildings, according to officials, after which the city's mayor declared a state of emergency.

Photo:

Dsns.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles hit a military airbase in Voronezh overnight into Tuesday, and witnesses heard at least 15 explosions, public broadcaster Polish Radio's polskieradio24.pl website reported.

Officials evacuated people from an apartment block nearby, after it was hit by falling drone debris which sparked a fire. 

⚡ A series of explosions have occurred in the Russian city of Voronezh, according to social media reports.

A high-rise building caught fire after the explosions. pic.twitter.com/RKJqNEDrXI

— FLASH (@Flash_news_ua) January 16, 2024

Voronezh's mayor said a state of emergency had been introduced in the city to repair the damage from the strike, according to the Reuters news agency.

💥 Russia: Drone strike in Voronezh. pic.twitter.com/fykZPl1KQk

— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) January 15, 2024

Voronezh is a city of some 1 million people, located 250 km from the Ukrainian border, polskieradio24.pl noted.

The Voronezh air base houses some of Russia's fighter-bomber aircraft which are often deployed in air strikes on Ukraine, the Reuters news agency reported.

Tuesday is day 692 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.

Source: polskieradio24.pl, Reuters