Russia and Ukraine Exchange Overnight Drone Strikes Across Border Regions

Russia and Ukraine exchanged overnight strikes on November 5, with drone attacks reported in several regions on both sides and at least five people injured, according to Anadolu.

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Telegram that its forces used drones to hit a Nova Poshta terminal in Novyi Korotych, outside the city of Kharkiv. The ministry also said its forces had struck a 330-kilovolt substation in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a high-voltage facility that manages electricity flows. In the Black Sea, it said a dry cargo ship carrying military equipment had been struck 52 kilometres south-west of Odesa. Al Jazeera carried these claims.

On the Ukrainian side, Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said Russia had attacked Kharkiv city and 17 other settlements in the region over the previous day with more than 80 drones. Six people were injured, including a child. Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said Russian attacks on Wednesday killed four civilians and injured five others, with two deaths in Serhiivka and two in Yasnohirka. Separately, Russian drones caused large fires overnight in the Bucha district outside Kyiv, where a logistics centre was reportedly targeted and one person was injured.

Inside Russia, the most detailed account came from the Ryazan region, about 200 kilometres south-east of Moscow. Governor Pavel Malkov said more than 200 Ukrainian drones attacked the region overnight. He said falling debris started fires at several industrial sites and damaged power lines, cutting electricity to parts of the city of Ryazan. One person was injured. Malkov later said power had been restored and the fires extinguished or contained.

Footage verified by the Russian outlet Astra showed a fire at the Ryazan oil refinery, which is owned by the state oil company Rosneft. Militarnyi reported that Ukrainian drones struck the refinery and a Wildberries logistics warehouse on the same night.

The attacks follow a pattern of recent strikes on Russian logistics and energy sites. Reuters reported on November 4 that a Ukrainian drone strike had set fire to a logistics hub belonging to Ozon, a Russian e-commerce group, in southern Russia. Earlier, on November 3, Reuters reported that Russian officials said Ukraine had set fire to a major oil refinery in the city of Yaroslavl in an overnight drone attack.