Ukraine said satellite images showed the destruction of a Russian warehouse used to launch Iranian-made drones and train trainees.
The photos were released by the Ukrainian navy following reports of a massive explosion near a Russian airport in the southern Krasnodar region.
Moscow has not commented on the reports but did say it shot down several drones in the area on Friday night.
Kyiv naval officials said a number of training instructors and trainees learning to operate Iranian-made Shahd drones were killed in the attack, which they said took place on Friday night.
Kiev naval officials posted on Telegram that the operation was planned and implemented in cooperation with Ukrainian intelligence agencies.
Data from Planet Labs, the US company that took the photos, shows the base is located on the Sea of Azov, across from the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
“New satellite imagery confirms that the Shahed-136/Geran-2 storage and preparation facility, training building, control and communication points for these drones are located in the Krasnodar Krai,” Navy officials wrote in a post. It was destroyed on the evening of June 21st.
Photos posted on social media appear to show two large warehouses bisected by a north-south road on April 11. Photos taken on Saturday showed one of the warehouses completely destroyed and another severely damaged.
Russia said on Friday it had shot down 114 drones in Ukraine during attacks on oil refineries and military targets in the country’s south. Officials said falling debris killed one person but did not mention the attack on the drone base.
A Ukrainian missile strike on the peninsula killed three people, including two children, Russian officials in occupied Crimea said on Saturday.
Mikhail Razvozhaev, who Moscow appointed as regional governor in 2020, said nearly 100 people were injured.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the air defense system destroyed five missiles, but intercepted fragments fell on the coast. Officials said the missiles were American-made ATACMS capable of penetrating deep into Russian-controlled territory.
Elsewhere, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said further attacks by Ukrainian drones on Sunday night killed one person and injured three others.
Vyacheslav Gladkov said one of the drones destroyed a parking lot in Graivoron, about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Meanwhile, Russian missiles and drones struck the Ukrainian capital on Saturday night, injuring two people and damaging dozens of residential buildings, officials in Kyiv said.
Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the Kiev regional administration, said people were injured as a result of falling debris. He noted that six towers, 20 private residences and several shops were damaged in the attack.
Ukraine’s air force said it destroyed two of three missiles launched by Russia towards the Kiev region.
In a night speech in the capital, President Zelensky once again called on Western countries to provide Ukraine with new air defense systems, specifically calling for the use of American-made Patriot systems.
“Ukraine needs the necessary power and means to destroy the carriers of these bombs, especially Russian fighter jets, wherever they are,” he said.
