Downed drone kills three in Russia, including child: governor

MOSCOW

Debris from a drone destroyed over the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, fell on homes and killed three people, including a young child, the regional governor said Thursday.

The air defence system "shot down an aircraft-type UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) approaching the city", said Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, adding that the falling debris destroyed several homes.

"Most importantly, three people were killed, one of them a small child," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app, accompanied by pictures of a house reduced to a pile of rubble behind red and white police tape.

"A difficult morning for all of us," he said, offering his condolences to the loved ones of those killed.

"We are all grieving."

Earlier, he had said that the bodies of a man and a woman had been discovered in the rubble, while another man and woman who suffered injuries in the incident and were brought to hospital.

The man was in a coma and had suffered significant burns, while the woman had a concussion and a fractured leg, he said, adding that doctors had assessed the woman's condition as "serious".

In all, he said that as a result of the falling drone debris, "two residential buildings were (completely) destroyed and several residential buildings and cars were damaged".

Early Thursday, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram that an attempted Ukrainian drone attack in the Belgorod region had been "thwarted" at around 11:50 pm (2050 GMT) Wednesday.

It made no mention of casualties.

Since Ukraine launched its counter-offensive in June, Russia has weathered waves of drone attacks, especially in border regions.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian shelling killed two civilians in the Belgorod region, according to Gladkov.