Moscow reported on Friday that it had downed a second Ukrainian missile over southwestern Russia, shortly after intercepting another missile that caused debris to fall on the city of Taganrog, injuring at least 15 people.
The Russian defense ministry stated that its air defense systems intercepted a Ukrainian missile near the city of Azov in the Rostov region. The fragments of the downed missile fell in an uninhabited area.
Ukraine has not yet responded to the incident, and it is rare for them to comment on attacks within Russian territory or on Russian-controlled lands.
Vasily Golubev, the governor of Russia’s Rostov region, which includes Taganrog and is close to Ukraine, reported that a cafe and a museum were hit in addition to a residential building, causing the windows to be blown out. Nine people were taken to the hospital with injuries, but fortunately, no fatalities were reported.
Videos circulating online showed a low-rise building partially reduced to rubble at the scene of the incident.
In a separate incident, an explosion occurred at an oil refinery in the Russian city of Samara. Member of parliament Alexander Khinshtein suggested that the explosion at the refinery, which is owned by Rosneft, may have been caused by a bomb. Thankfully, there were no serious damages or casualties reported.
TASS news agency informed that a person believed to be responsible for the blast had been detained.
Parts of Russia, particularly areas near the border with Ukraine, have frequently experienced shelling or drone attacks during the 17-month war. Energy installations and weapons stores have been frequent targets of such attacks.