At least 13 individuals sustained injuries during a Ukrainian aerial strike on the North Caucasus region of Adygea, according to regional officials on Wednesday.
Murat Kumpilov, the head of Adygea, who had recently returned from Moscow after a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, initially reported that a Ukrainian drone had hit an apartment block in the village of Novaya Adygea, adjacent to Krasnodar.
In later updates shared on Telegram, however, Kumpilov did not specify the type of weapon involved, referring to the incident simply as an “enemy attack.”
He also posted images showing the extensive damage to the apartment complex in Novaya Adygea, where nearly all windows were shattered and several balconies were entirely collapsed.
Independent military analysts and exiled Russian media have suggested, based on videos of the explosion in Adygea, that the apartment building was likely hit by a Russian anti-aircraft missile that had gone off course, rather than being struck by a Ukrainian drone or, as some pro-war military bloggers asserted, a long-range missile.
Ruslan Leviev, the founder of the war monitoring group Conflict Intelligence Team, noted that this incident marked the second time in less than a week that Russian air defense systems had caused damage to Russian property.
The Moscow Times has been unable to independently confirm these claims.
Kumpilov reported that 27 people, including one child, were moved to temporary housing after their residences were destroyed in the blast and subsequent fire.
Russia’s Defense Ministry stated that its air defense systems intercepted 52 Ukrainian drones in the airspace over Krasnodar from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning.
