A drone struck a five-story apartment building in Russia on Saturday morning, and some media outlets in the country pointed the finger at Ukraine.
Residents of the building in St. Petersburg reported a strange sound, an explosion, and then a fire just after 7 a.m. local time.
“At first I heard a whistle, because I had just opened the window, and then the window flew out, and the fire broke out and the apartment was filled with smoke,” Elena, a resident, told Reuters news agency.
The Russian National Guard in Rosjvardia said 100 people had been evacuated, while Russian news agency RIA Novosti said six people needed medical assistance after the explosion.
A video clip from the scene showed the facade of the building with shattered windows, damaged balconies, shattered glass, and debris on the ground.
Russian media said that the accident may have been caused by the downing of a Ukrainian drone that was heading towards a nearby fuel depot.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said it had “no information about the referred situation” and the Russian Defense Ministry did not comment.
Read more:
Navalny's mother places flowers on his grave
Experts predict where the conflict in Ukraine will go next
Why the Baltic states are urging their allies to 'wake up'
Meanwhile, at least five people were killed and others were feared trapped under rubble when a Russian drone struck an apartment building in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa.
Please use Chrome browser for an easily accessible video player
Searching for survivors after the deadly Russian strike in Odessa
Elsewhere in Ukraine, officials said air defenses shot down 14 of 17 drones that entered the country's airspace.
Regional Governor Oleh Sinyhopov said that more than 20 settlements in Kharkiv province came under Russian artillery and mortar attacks, while high-rise buildings in the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, were damaged by a drone attack.
It has been just over two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, an escalation of a conflict that began in 2014.
