A surveillance drone was shot down, early on Wednesday, by Russian air defenses outside the city of Voronezh, deep inside Russia’s territory and around 250km from the Ukrainian border, according to the regional governor.
The city has a population of over one million people and is a major strategic hub.
“The air defense systems detected and successfully destroyed a small-sized reconnaissance UAV in the skies near Voronezh,” Aleksandr Gusev wrote on Telegram.
He gave assurances that there was “no threat to the life and health of the region’s residents.”
The governor did not specify the origin of the drone, but some parts of the Voronezh Region have been on a heightened terrorist alert since April 11 due to possible action from Ukraine.