Debris from a downed Ukrainian drone caused a fire in the small town of Taropets, in Russia's Tver region, forcing local authorities to urgently evacuate residents, a regional governor in the region, northwest of Moscow, announced in the early hours of the morning.
It is not clear what started the fire.
Igor Rudenia, the regional governor, assured via Telegram that the situation is "under control" and firefighters are trying to put out the fire. He added that Russian air defenses continued to repel a Ukrainian "massive drone attack" on the city.
Schools and kindergartens are suspended for today in parts of Russia's Tver region, officials announced today. "Dear residents! Kindergartens and schools will not work today!", the self-government in Tver's Zapadnadvisky district said via Vkontakte. The reason why the operation of schools and kindergartens was suspended was not explained.
Other governors of western Russian regions also spoke of Ukrainian drone strikes overnight, assuring that no casualties or damage were reported.
Seven Ukrainian attack drones were destroyed in the Shmalensk region, according to regional governor Vassily Anokhin. Another was destroyed in Ariol, according to regional governor Andriy Klitskov.
At least 14 Ukrainian drones were destroyed in Bryansk, according to regional governor Alexander Bogomaz.
Ukraine, which has ramped up its own drone production over the past two years, has ramped up drone attacks on Russian territory, with Kiev saying it is targeting military, energy and transportation infrastructure to trouble Russian armed forces.
In September, the largest raid of its kind so far in the war targeted Moscow; it claimed at least one death, damaged homes and disrupted air transport.
Russian authorities rarely reveal the full extent of the damage caused by the Ukrainian raids.
On the other side of the border, the military command of Kiev announced that for one more night air defenses are working to repel a Russian drone attack. Journalists from the Reuters news agency reported that they heard explosions, estimating that they were due to the action of anti-aircraft defense arrays.
Ukrainian authorities generally claim to shoot down almost all drones launched by the Russian armed forces, especially in the capital.