War in Ukraine: Three dead in Russia in Ukrainian drone strikes

Three people were killed in Russia during Ukrainian drone strikes overnight from Friday to Saturday in the Rostov and Penza regions (southern) as well as in Samara, far from the front, local authorities said. The Russian army announced that it had intercepted a total of 112 drones fired by Ukraine during the night.

In a rare development, one of the victims, "an elderly man," was reported in the Samara region, on the Volga River, about 800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev. "He was inside a country house that caught fire due to falling drone debris," he said on Telegram.

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In the Penza region, located between Samara and the Ukrainian border, "early this morning, enemy drones once again attacked a company," announced Governor Oleg Melnichenko. "Unfortunately, one woman died. Two other people were injured," but "their lives are not in danger," he added.

In the Rostov region, which borders Ukraine, "the army repelled a massive attack overnight, destroying drones" over several towns, Governor Yuri Slioussar announced on Telegram. "In the village of Uglerodovsky, in the Krasnosulinskiy district, a fire broke out in one of the buildings of an industrial site," he added, specifying that "an employee guarding the site was dead."

The Russian armed forces launched more drones against Ukraine than ever before in July (6,297), according to an AFP analysis published Friday. This includes a significant proportion of decoy drones, primarily intended to saturate Ukrainian air defense systems already strained by the intensity of attacks.

The Kremlin rejects the idea of a lasting ceasefire in Ukraine, which it sees as a gift to Kiev's troops, despite Donald Trump's frustration at this refusal. Ukraine, for its part, is demanding air defense systems from its European allies and is particularly hoping to obtain modern Patriot batteries. On Friday, the US president ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines in response to "inflammatory" comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.