A building in southern Russia’s Rostov-on-Don was set ablaze on Tuesday evening due to an alleged Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strike.
Rostov-on-Don, around 200 km (124 miles) from the closest Ukrainian-controlled territories, is the regional capital of the Rostov region bordering Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Russian independent media Astra, citing local reports, said the house near the intersection of Khalturinsky Lane and Moskovskaya Street in Rostov went up in flames during a reported Ukrainian drone strike.
Footage from Astra captured towering flames and thick smoke billowing into the night sky, visible from several kilometers away.
Rostov Region Acting Governor Yuri Slyusar confirmed the incident and attributed it to a “UAV crash.”
“In Rostov-on-Don, a UAV crash caused an explosion and a fire on the roof of a four-story apartment building in Khalturinsky Lane,” Slyusar wrote in his Telegram update just past midnight.
He added, after visiting the scene, that the fire was contained within an area of 250 square meters (2,691 square feet) with no casualties, and 15 locals were evacuated to a nearby school shelter.
On Wednesday morning, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed to have downed 26 Ukrainian drones in a Telegram update – 15 of which are in the Rostov region.
The Rostov region hosts multiple military bases that serve as forward operating hubs for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including the Novocherkassk base that serves as the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District and the Taganrog naval base that serves as a garrison for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
One of the Chinese fighters captured by Kyiv said in April that he went through Rostov before being deployed to Ukraine’s Donetsk region, part of which is now under Russian occupation.
The region also hosts airfields such as Morozovsk and Millerovo air bases.
The region is also home to some Russian oil refineries, which had also come under Ukrainian attack in recent weeks.
It remains unclear whether the named sites were Kyiv’s intended targets, as Ukraine has not commented on the attack at the time of publication.