Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered beefed up border security with Ukraine on Tuesday after several drones reached Russian territory, including one that crashed just 100 kilometers from Moscow.
Drone strikes on Monday night and Tuesday morning hit Russian regions near the Ukrainian border and deeper into Russian territory, local authorities said.
A drone went down near the village of Gubastovo, about 100 kilometers southeast of Moscow, said Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the region around the Russian capital. The drone caused no damage, Vorobyov said.
The drones did not kill anyone but raised questions about Russian security more than a year after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its neighboring former Soviet republic.
Russia blamed Ukraine for the attacks. The Ukrainian authorities have admitted responsibility for the incident, but in the past they have also avoided admitting direct responsibility for attacks or acts of sabotage. They then said that they had the right to hit any Russian objective by invading Russia.
Several Russian television channels spread a missile attack alarm. Authorities attributed it to a hack.
Earlier Tuesday, Russian forces shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Bryansk region, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on the Telegram message service. No casualties were reported.
Three drones struck Russia’s Belgorod region on Monday night, one flying through the window of an apartment in the regional capital. Governor Viacheslav Gladkov said the drones caused minor damage to buildings and vehicles, but no casualties.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukraine used drones to attack facilities in the Krasnodar region and neighboring Adygea. He indicated that the drones were shot down by means of electronic warfare, adding that one of them crashed in a meadow and another was diverted and did not reach the infrastructure it was targeting.
