MOSCOW
\nMoscow said Friday it had destroyed eight Ukrainian drones in western Russia, following a deadly Russian strike on a village across the frontline.
\nThe Russian defense ministry said the attempted drone attacks on Belgorod and Kursk took place late Thursday.
\n\u201cKyiv regime\u2019s attempt to carry out a terrorist attack by an aircraft-type UAV on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation was thwarted,\u201d it said on Telegram.
\nIt said one drone was destroyed over Kursk at around 8:30 p.m. (1730 GMT), and seven were shot down over Belgorod and the surrounding region a few hours later.
\nBelgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov initially spoke of six drone strikes in his region, saying on Telegram that \u201caccording to preliminary data, no victims.\u201d
\n\u201cOperational services are clarifying information about the consequences on the ground,\u201d he wrote.
\nSince Ukraine launched its counter-offensive in June, Russia has weathered waves of drone attacks that have sporadically damaged buildings, including in Moscow.
\nRussian officials have downplayed their significance.
\nOn Wednesday, Russia said it downed 31 Ukrainian drones in the same region, as well as in Bryansk, further north.
\nFriday\u2019s announcements came after a Russian strike killed at least 51 people gathered for a wake in a Ukrainian village on Thursday, in an attack described by President Volodymyr Zelensky as \u201cabsolute evil.\u201d
\nThe village of 330 people is around 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the frontline town of Kupiansk, an area Russian forces have been pushing to recapture after they lost territory to Ukrainian troops last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MOSCOW Moscow said Friday it had destroyed eight Ukrainian drones in western Russia, following a deadly Russian strike on a village across the frontline. The Russian defense ministry said the attempted drone attacks on Belgorod and Kursk took place late Thursday. \u201cKyiv regime\u2019s attempt to carry out a terrorist attack by an aircraft-type UAV on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-360160","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n