Russian officials say Ukrainian drone strikes killed five people and injured at least seven others in attacks near Moscow and St Petersburg. According to the initial accounts, the drones hit industrial and warehouse locations, adding to a pattern of strikes reported deep inside Russian territory.

Authorities in the Moscow region said some of the dead were linked to one of the targeted sites. The reported attack near St Petersburg also involved warehouse facilities, with emergency services responding after the strikes. The claims have come from Russian officials, and the battlefield context makes independent verification difficult.

The reported deaths mark a serious escalation for areas around Russia's two biggest cities, which are far from the front lines compared with many parts of Ukraine. Strikes on logistics, industrial and storage infrastructure have become a growing part of the war, with both sides accusing each other of expanding attacks beyond direct combat zones.

In a separate incident, a soldier reportedly killed four people in Russian-controlled Crimea. That episode, mentioned alongside the drone attacks, added to a day of deadly violence across territories affected by the war.