Ukraine says debris from Russian drone crash hit apartment block, killing 4

Ukraine says debris from Russian drone crash hit apartment block, killing 4

A three-month-old was among four people killed after debris from a Russian drone hit an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said Saturday.

Authorities said eight people also sustained injuries.

Odesa regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said the debris came from the Shahed drone that was shot down by Ukrainian air defences.

Ukraine's Armed Forces reported the region was attacked by eight drones, and seven of them were shot down by air defences.

Rescuers are seen working in Odesa on Satudrday the aftermath of a Russian drone attack.
Rescuers work in Odesa on Saturday following the drone attack. (Reuters)

Across Ukraine, air defences shot down 14 of 17 drones launched against the country, according to its Armed Forces.

Oleh Syniehubov, Kharkiv's regional governor, reported Saturday morning that over 20 settlements in the eastern Ukrainian province had sustained Russian artillery and mortar attacks, while highrise buildings in the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, were damaged by a drone attack.

He said there were no casualties, but three people suffered an "acute stress reaction."

In the partly occupied Kherson region, Russian artillery shelling killed a 53-year-old man on Saturday morning, the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office said.

St. Petersburg apartment hit

In Russia, a drone crashed into an apartment building in St. Petersburg on Saturday morning, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

An investigator is seen examining the aftermath of a reported drone attack in St. Petersburg, Russia.
An investigator examines damage at an apartment building in St. Petersburg, Russia, in the wake of the drone attack. (The Associated Press)

Six people received medical help after the explosion rocked the building, the agency said, citing the press service of the city's health-care committee.

The Mash news site said the apartment building was hit by a Ukrainian drone, a claim that couldn't be verified by The Associated Press.

The site published videos appearing to show the moment the apartment building was struck, showing a strong flash of light engulfing one side of the building and fragments of debris flying into the air. In another video, car alarms are going off.

Russia's Defence Ministry has not commented on the incident.

In Russia's Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, an investigative team came under attack by a Ukrainian drone, according to the Russian Investigative Committee.

Two members of the team were wounded and a further two suffered shock, the committee wrote on Telegram.

Russia's wide-ranging invasion of Ukraine recently crossed the two-year mark. Drones have increasingly become important tools of war for both sides as the conflict endures.