Russia accuses Ukraine of killing 20 in drone attacks last week

Russia has alleged that Ukrainian forces killed 20 civilians, one of them a child, in a series of drone attacks over the last week. Rodion Miroshnik, a special envoy at the Russian Foreign Ministry, provided the figures to the state TASS news agency, adding that 85 people, including seven minors, were wounded in the incidents.

Allegations of Targeting Journalists

Miroshnik further accused Ukrainian troops of deliberately targeting members of the press. He stated that a film crew from the Russian media outlet Rossiya Segodnya came under fire while working in the Zaporizhzhia region. The attack reportedly led to the death of journalist Ivan Zuyev and left his colleague, Yuri Voytkevich, severely injured.

Russian Air Defense Claims

In a separate statement, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 55 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions during overnight operations. The ministry detailed several ground-level impacts, noting that a local resident was injured by a crashing drone in Rostov-on-Don, an apartment building was damaged in Bataisk, and a teenager in the Bryansk region was hurt by falling drone debris.