dpa
Moscow
Six people were reportedly killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian border region of Belgorod as Russian airstrikes caused power outages in north-eastern Ukraine on Monday.
The Ukrainian drone attack on three vehicles near the village of Beryozovka injured a further 35 people, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel early on Monday.
Two of the vehicles were reportedly buses carrying workers, although no further details were available about their employers. Gladkov also published a photo showing a badly damaged bus.
Meanwhile, more than 400,000 households in the north-eastern Ukrainian border region of Sumy were affected by power outages after the Russian military attacked energy systems with 13 Iranian-made combat drones.
Ukrainian officials said 12 of the drones were shot down, but more than 1,300 villages lost power. Most have now had their electricity supply restored. Ukraine has sporadically attacked arms depots and transport infrastructure in Russian border regions since the conflict with Moscow started more than two years ago.
However, the number of casualties Kiev has inflicted is far lower than its own losses since the Russian invasion.
Russian attacks with missiles and drones have repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power supply and caused high numbers of civilian casualties.
Also on Monday, the Russian Defence Ministry said it would conduct an exercise of tactical nuclear forces on the orders of President Vladimir Putin.
The announcement did not say if the missiles would be equipped with nuclear warheads. Russia has previously carried out nuclear forces training without nuclear warheads.
It was initially unclear when and where exactly the exercise, in which the southern defence district and naval forces are involved, would begin.
In October, the Russian military fired two intercontinental missiles and several cruise missiles for training and deterrence purposes.
It justified the exercise by alleging “provocative statements and threats by individual Western officials against the Russian Federation.”
Russian representatives have repeatedly tried to test international support for Kiev by stirring up fears of a nuclear war.
