AFP, referring to a Telegram post by Penza Region Governor Oleg Melnichenko, reported that at least three people were killed and two injured in overnight Ukrainian drone strikes on western Russia.
According to Melnichenko, one woman was killed and two others wounded after a drone struck an industrial facility in the Penza region, located about 600 km southeast of Moscow.
In the Samara region, situated along the Volga River in southwestern Russia, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said an elderly man died when debris from a downed drone caused a fire in a residential home.
A third fatality was reported in the Rostov region in southern Russia, near the Ukrainian border, where acting Governor Yuri Sliusar stated that a security guard at an industrial site was killed following a drone attack and subsequent fire.
Sliusar wrote on Telegram that Russian forces “repelled a massive air attack” overnight and shot down drones over seven districts. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its air defence systems destroyed 112 Ukrainian drones between Friday night and Saturday morning, including 34 over the Rostov region.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine’s central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhiy Lysak said three people were injured in Russian drone strikes overnight, which damaged buildings, homes, and vehicles.
Russia claims to have captured two villages amid an intensified July offensive, though Ukraine denies any Russian presence there. While President Vladimir Putin rejects ceasefire calls and insists Ukraine must abandon its NATO ambitions and cede territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says only Putin can end the war and expresses willingness to negotiate if Russia is ready.
Ukrainian air defences thwart major overnight drone attack on Dnipropetrovsk
Saturday, 2 August, Polish Radio's IAR news agency, citing Ukrinform, reported that Ukrainian air defence destroyed 45 out of 53 Russian drones overnight.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces launched 45 Shahed drones, 8 jet-powered drones, and several decoy drones designed to confuse air defences.
Ukrainian fighter jets, surface-to-air missiles, drones, and mobile fire units destroyed 37 Shahed drones and 8 jet-powered drones. Explosions occurred in five locations, and drone debris fell in two others.
Ukrainian drone strikes hit key military and industrial sites across Russia and Crimea
Polish Radio, citing eyewitness reports, has confirmed massive flames at refineries in Novokuybyshevsk (in the southwest of Samara Oblast) and Ryazan (around 200 km southeast of Moscow).
Ukraina potwierdza. To odpowiedź na stałe ostrzały ludności cywilnej 👇
Opublikowany przez PolskieRadio24.pl Sobota, 2 sierpnia 2025
Explosions were also reported at the Diaghilevo military airbase (in Ryazan Oblast) and two crucial military facilities — Elektropribor in Penza Oblast and the nearby Radiozavod fire control system plant.
Ukrainian drones also struck targets in occupied Crimea, where an oil depot in Feodosia caught fire.
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Source: AFP/IAR/PR24/NEXTA