Ukrainian drones were used to hit multiple targets in a sweeping attack on Russia that reportedly ignited fires at two major oil facilities and saw armed groups cross into Russian territory.
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Russia's Defense Ministry said nine of its regions were attacked by Ukrainian drones, while Ukrainian missiles were shot down over the Belgorod region early on March 12.
The attacks, the ministry said, targeted several energy facilities, including LUKoil's Norsi refinery, Russia's fourth-largest, in the Nizhny Novgorod region about 775 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Another drone hit an oil depot in Oryol, 116 kilometers from Ukraine.
At the same time, the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps, and the Siberian Battalion, which consist of Russian citizens who have been fighting alongside Ukrainian armed forces in the war, launched cross-border attacks into Russia territory.
The groups released video they said showed their soldiers inside Russia, though the claim could not be independently verified.
“On the territory of the Russian Federation, they operate completely autonomously and independently,” Andriy Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence, said.
The Kremlin said Russian forces repelled the incursions and inflicted heavy losses on the armed groups. The Kremlin's claim also could not be independently verified.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the attacks took place around 3 a.m. Moscow time with the insurgents using tanks and armored personnel carriers to target several locations inside Russia, with Russian troops employing missiles, artillery, and air forces to repel the attacks.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov of the Belgorod region said on March 12 that a Ukrainian drone hit the building of the administration of the regional capital, Belgorod.
One woman sustained shrapnel wounds and another suffered a contusion, Gladkov wrote on Telegram, adding that the explosion also shattered windows and damaged the building's facade.
Meanwhile, a Russian attack overnight hit an apartment building in Ukraine's Kupyansk. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said the Russian bombing caused extensive damage and triggered several fires, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
In Ukraine's western Ternopil region, the regional military administration reported that a Russian drone strike damaged infrastructure, but no casualties were immediately reported.
"There was a fire at one of the infrastructure facilities in the Kremenets district [of Ternopil]; 19 units of special equipment, 73 personnel, and a tactical robot were involved in extinguishing the fire," the report said.
The Ukrainian military said that its air-defense systems shot down 17 of the 22 drones launched by Russia.