Russia, Ukraine launch drone strikes

Berlin, April 28 (IANS/DPA) Russia and Ukraine continued to attack each other with drone strikes a day before, according to local authorities on Sunday.

Ukrainian Governor Vitaly Kim said a hotel and an energy supply facility were hit in the southern city of Mykolaiv.

The exact damage is still being determined, he wrote in a post on Telegram. However, there were no casualties.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia deployed four Iranian-made Shahed-131/136 combat drones -- so-called 'kamikaze' drones -- and five other drones of unknown design.

The four Shahed drones and one other drone were shot down, officials said.

The Russian air attacks on Ukraine were not as intense as those on Saturday when dozens of rockets, cruise missiles and combat drones hit targets in the country.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry in Moscow said that 17 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over areas close to the border on Sunday night.

DPA is unable to independently confirm details of the strikes provided by either side.

The Governor of the Kaluga region in Russia, Vladislav Shapsha, said that three Ukrainian drones had been intercepted near a fuel depot.

Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion of the country for more than two years. Russian airstrikes have targeted areas throughout the country, with particularly intense attacks recently aimed at Ukraine's energy supplies.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has increased the range of its own combat drones and is increasingly targeting Russian refineries and fuel supply facilities as well.

Source: IANS