Russia says Ukrainian drone strike kills two children

MOSCOW (AFP0: Debris from an Ukrainian drone attack fell onto a childcare facility in southern Russia, killing two youngsters and wounding nine others, Russian regional authorities said early Monday.

The latest attacks came as Ukraine prepared to mark the 35th anniversary of its independence and to host a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, to be attended by leaders of its European allies.

“Drone debris fell on a private children’s centre in Krasnodar. Sadly, two children were killed,” Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said in a Telegram message.

Seven other children and two adults were wounded, he added.

Kondratyev also said a fire broke out at a warehouse after a drone fell on it.

Russian e-commerce giant Ozon said on Monday that a “major fire” was burning at one of its logistic centres in Krasnodar after a drone attack, adding there were no casualties.

Kyiv’s attacks on Russian warehouses – typically easier to reach than heavily defended military installations – have already delivered economic losses worth billions of dollars.

Ukraine’s military on Saturday said it was launching a new campaign targeting Ozon, following similar strikes against Russia’s top online retailer Wildberries.

Ozon reported in recent days attacks against its locations in the central Orenburg region, the outskirts of Saint Petersburg, and the Samara region.

Russia has railed against the attacks on its “civilian infrastructure” more than four years into its full-scale offensive on Ukraine that has killed thousands of civilians and flattened cities across the country’s east and south.