Ukraine says Russian drone attack targeted energy sites in Sumy

A Ukrainian Navy missile strike demolished Russian ammunition depots near the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to a statement on Tuesday from the Ukrainian navy.

The statement said that its strike destroyed not only the tons of ammunition that the Russians had stockpiled but also the infrastructure containing the ammunition. The claims could not be independently verified immediately.

Mariupol was the scene of a four-month seize by Russian forces at the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. An estimated 25,000 people were killed in the siege and the city was left in ruins.

Meanwhile, Russia said it captured another town in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainsk, the Russian state-owned RIA news agency and pro-Russian bloggers reported. One of the bloggers said the town has been taken almost intact. Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian defense ministries commented on the claim.

Earlier, Russian drone attacks overnight targeted energy facilities in northeastern Ukraine, officials said Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Tuesday that repair crews have been dispatched to the region.

The attacks knocked out power in the Sumy region, where officials said Ukrainian air defenses shot down 16 of the drones.

The assault on Sumy was part of a wider drone attack, during which Ukraine’s military said it shot down a total of 34 of 51 Russian drones.

Intercepts also took place over the Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Poltava regions.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down 15 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region, where authorities reported no damage or casualties. Another Ukrainian drone targeted Russia’s Kursk region.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that Russia is boosting the size of its army due to “threats” along the country’s borders.

"It is caused by the extremely hostile environment on our western borders and instability on our eastern borders. This demands appropriate measures to be taken,” Peskov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered his military to expand its number of troops by 180,000, bringing the total to 1.5 million. Putin last called for a troop increase in December.

The move comes as Russian forces try to push out Ukrainian forces who moved into Russia’s Kursk region in early August.

Russia’s military said Monday it reclaimed control of two villages in Kursk, Uspenovka and Borki.

Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov announced Monday the evacuation of villages in the Rylsky and Khomutovsky districts, which are located about 40 kilometers north of Uspenovka. The announcement, on Telegram, gave few specifics about the reason for the order other than saying it was to ensure security.

Also Monday, Ukraine called on the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to send teams to areas of Kursk under Ukrainian control to evaluate the situation there.

Russia quickly responded by calling Ukraine’s action a “provocation.”

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said later in New York that the U.N. is “ready to do it,” but that it would need authorization from Russia to make such a visit.

Some information for this story was provided by Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.