Russia says it downed 221 Ukrainian drones launched on its territory overnight, in one of the largest aerial assaults since May.
More than half of the drones were intercepted over the Bryansk and Smolensk regions, south-west of Moscow, where Lukoil facilities were reportedly targeted, the defence ministry said.
Authorities in the Leningrad region stated that 28 drones were brought down and reported a fire on a vessel in the Baltic port of Primorsk, which is Russia's largest oil terminal. They indicated that the blaze was extinguished without casualties or leaks.
Simultaneously, officials noted that two civilians were killed in Ukraine's Sumy region when a Russian glide bomb struck a village near the border.
Interceptions were reported across at least nine other regions of Russia, including Kaluga, Novgorod, and the Moscow area, where nine drones were said to have been destroyed. Debris was recorded across several areas, but Russian officials maintained there were no casualties.
Seven individuals, including five civilians and two military personnel, sustained injuries when a drone struck a bus in Bryansk, as reported by the region's Governor Alexander Bogomaz.
Moscow's figures, which the BBC has been unable to independently verify, suggest that Thursday night's attack constituted one of the largest Ukrainian aerial bombardments in over four months.
By comparison, Ukrainian officials reported that Russia had deployed 818 drones against their territory in recent weeks.
The aerial assault is described as one of the most significant for the Leningrad region since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine three-and-a-half years ago, leading to a temporary suspension of operations at St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport.
Cross-border drone raids have become an increasingly prominent feature of the war. In July, a sustained Ukrainian drone attack forced the temporary closure of all of Moscow's airports. In recent months, Ukrainian strikes have reached deeper into Russian territory, hitting refineries, fuel depots, and logistics hubs hundreds of miles from the frontlines.
Moscow has ramped up its missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy facilities over the summer as efforts led by the US to reach a peace agreement have stalled.
The attacks occurred just ahead of a significant joint military exercise between Russia and ally Belarus, set to begin on Friday, which takes place every four years. This time, it occurs shortly after several Russian drones were shot down or fell on Poland, which Warsaw called an unprecedented incursion into its airspace.
