Russia downs Ukrainian drones, strikes key Danube river port

Three buildings were damaged in the city of Rostov-on-Don and one person was injured when one of the drones crashed in the downtown area

 A Ukrainian firefighter works at a site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released on September 6, 2023 (photo credit: STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE /HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
A Ukrainian firefighter works at a site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released on September 6, 2023
(photo credit: STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE /HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

Ukrainian drones were downed near Moscow, the southern Rostov region and the Bryansk region in the southwest in the early hours of Thursday, the RIA news agency cited Russian authorities as saying.

According to another news agency, TASS, three buildings were damaged in the city of Rostov-on-Don and one person was injured when one of the drones crashed in the downtown area. The other drone in the Rostov region fell outside the city.

In Bryansk, debris from one of the two destroyed drones shattered windows in a railway station building and damaged cars nearby, the Interfax news agency reported.

Port, grain silo damaged by drone strikes on Ukraine's Izmail

Russian drone strikes overnight damaged port infrastructure, a grain silo and administrative buildings in the Izmail district of Ukraine's southern Odesa region, the regional governor said on Thursday.

Odesa governor Oleh Kiper said one person had been hurt in the attack, which he said was the fourth in five days on the Izmail district, which includes Danube River ports that are used to ship grain.

A firefighter works at a site which was hit during Russia's drone attacks in Odesa region, Ukraine September 3, 2023 (credit: STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE IN ODESA REGION/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
A firefighter works at a site which was hit during Russia's drone attacks in Odesa region, Ukraine September 3, 2023 (credit: STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE IN ODESA REGION/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

Ukraine's general prosecutor's office later said two truck drivers had been hurt and that the blast wave had damaged several private houses.

The Ukrainian military reported shooting down 25 of the 33 drones it said were launched by Russia overnight. Most were aimed at the Odesa region but some targeted the northern area of Sumy, it added.

Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's grain export infrastructure on the Danube and on the Black Sea port hub of Odesa since July 17, when it quit the UN-brokered deal that had allowed safe exports of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea.

Kherson governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russia had also shelled the village of Odradokamyanka in his southern region on Thursday morning. A 50-year-old man died of wounds sustained in the attack and two others were wounded in a later attack on the village, he said.