Russia’s southern Krasnodar region struck by overnight drone attack

Russia has been hit by an overnight Ukrainian drone strike in the southern region of Krasnodar.

Local media reports at least one person has been killed, while Krasnodar region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram that a home had been “completely destroyed”.

Other drone attacks have been reported in the neighbouring Russian republic of Adygea, as well as the central Tombov region, which have set several oil depots on fire.

Russia’s Defence Ministry did not mention the drone attack in Tombov in any of its statements.

Meanwhile, the ministry has released footage which it says shows Russian units using land drones and tanks to attack Ukrainian positions in the Donetsk direction.

The governor of Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, Vadym Filashkin, reported three people have been killed and 27 injured in Russian attacks over the past day. In Kharkiv Oblast, three people have been killed and six injured, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

Ukrainian forces retreat

Ukraine’s army has been forced to retreat from a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, a strategically important town in the eastern Donetsk region.

Months of relentless Russian artillery strikes have devastated Chasiv Yar, with homes and municipal offices charred, and a town that once had a population of 12,000 has been left deserted.

The fall of Chasiv Yar, a town which occupies an elevated location, would put nearby cities in jeopardy, compromise critical Ukrainian supply routes and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of seizing the entire Donetsk region.

Oleh Shyriaiev, commander of the 255 assault battalion, which has been based in the area for six months, said after Russian troops captured the neighbourhood, they burned every building not already destroyed by shelling.

Shyriaiev said Russia is deploying scorched-earth tactics in an attempt to destroy anything which could be used as a military position in a bid to force troops to retreat.

Other Russian attacks in recent weeks have focused on capturing nearby settlements that would allow them to advance to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the biggest cities in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Donetsk region.

Ukrainian commanders in the area say their resources remain stretched, largely due to a months-long gap in military assistance from the United States, which threw Ukraine’s military onto the defensive.