Russia claims Ukrainian missile injures 15 in border town

Blast reported near cafe in Taganrog in mainland Russia

Russian authorities said people were injured by shrapnel and broken glass in the blast. AFP

Russia on Friday reported an explosion on its territory that injured 15 people in what it said was a missile attack by Ukraine.

The blast in Taganrog in mainland Russia, near the border with Ukraine, caused the people to be wounded by shrapnel and broken glass, according to regional governor Vasily Gobulev.

The Russian military said debris had fallen on the town after a Ukrainian missile was intercepted by air defences. Taganrog lies between Russia's Rostov-on-Don and Kremlin-occupied territory in southern Ukraine.

Images posted by the governor showed part of a low-rise building reduced to rubble. No deaths were reported.

There was no comment from Kyiv but several explosions and drone attacks have occurred behind Russian lines during its military campaign in Ukraine.

Ukraine has remained coy about its involvement in such incidents, with any direct attack on Russia sure to cause unease among Kyiv's allies.

A Russian missile strike hit a residential complex and a building of Ukraine's security service in Dnipro on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“Five people were wounded following a Russian strike on a multi-storey building in Dnipro,” Internal Affairs Minister Igor Klymenko said on Telegram.

Videos posted on social media showed smoke billowing from the top floors of a residential building that had been badly damaged.

“Dnipro. Friday evening. A high-rise building and the Security Service of Ukraine's building were hit. Russian missile terror again,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

Russia separately said it had shot down a Ukrainian drone that was detected outside Moscow early on Friday, the third such incident near the capital this month.

“An enemy drone attack attempt was made,” Moscow's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.

No injuries were reported. Two drones struck Moscow on Monday, one of them falling near the Defence Ministry's headquarters about 3km from the Kremlin.

The incidents come as Ukraine carries out a counter-offensive within its borders that led to the capture of a village in its south-east on Thursday, taking it deeper into occupied territory.

Mr Zelenskyy posted footage of troops celebrating the seizure of Staromaiorske in the Donetsk enclave.

“The 35th brigade and the Ariy territorial defence unit have fulfilled their task and liberated the village of Staromaiorske. Glory to Ukraine,” a soldier said in the video.

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said troops were clearing the village, which lies to the south of a cluster of small settlements that Ukraine recaptured along the Mokri Yaly river as its counter-offensive began.

Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, said troops were looking for vulnerabilities along Russia’s front line and would “move in with more intensity” when they found them.

He asked allies to be patient and described Ukraine’s progress as “very steady”.

“For Ukrainians, every metre, every village, every town is a milestone,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme after the capture of Staromaiorske.

“We have very capable military commanders. They’ve proven time and again they’re capable of masterminding really solid and smart campaigns.”

Analysts have said Ukraine hopes to punch a hole through the land corridor between Russia and the occupied Crimean peninsula, splitting Moscow's forces in two along the Sea of Azov coast.

Assessments have been mixed of the pace of Ukraine's counter-offensive. Mr Zelenskyy has spoken of “very good results” while seeking to keep expectations of a rapid advance in check.

Ukraine was given western tanks to help it regain territory that Russia seized in the early stages of the invasion. There has been little movement in the battle lines until the Ukrainian offensive.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin told state television that every Ukrainian assault had been beaten back and said his troops had inflicted significant losses on their opponents.

A pro-Kremlin official in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region said Ukraine had used cluster bombs, a weapon provided by the US despite opposition from some western allies, to attack the area.