Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, hit an electrical substation with a drone in Russia’s Kursk region near the border in a “successful attack,” an SBU official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
The governor of Russia’s Kursk region said a Ukrainian drone dropped explosives on the substation in the Russian village of Belaya, cutting off power supply nearby, including at a hospital. The governor, Roman Starovoyt, said firefighters rushed to the site to extinguish the flames and that “power will be restored as soon as it is safe to do so.”
There was no immediate official comment from Kyiv. The SBU official said the drone hit Russian military targets connected to the substation and shared aerial footage showing a series of blasts. The Washington Post could not immediately verify the claims.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Air defenses shot down several other drones targeting the Kursk region in western Russia, the governor and the Russian Ministry of Defense said. Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for the drones, the latest in an uptick of attempted attacks on Russian territory. There were no initial reports of casualties. Ukrainian officials have been vocal about their view that targets inside Russia are part of the conflict.
Poland said its aircraft did not cross the border into neighboring Belarus, denying accusations from Minsk that a Polish helicopter had violated its airspace. Tensions have simmered between Poland and Russian ally Belarus, with Warsaw moving troops to reinforce the border.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich remains “defiant” six months after he was detained in Russia while on a reporting trip, his mother told CNN. “He’s smiling,” she said. “And I have to say, under all the circumstances, he’s doing really well.” The American journalist’s colleagues and employer have staunchly denied Russia’s espionage charges against him, as Washington and international press advocates call for his release.
Russia will hike its military spending by about 68 percent, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, citing the draft budget for next year published by the Ministry of Finance. “Obviously, such an increase is necessary because we are living in a state of hybrid warfare,” he said, “and this requires high spending.”
