Ukrainian drone smashes into Russian residential tower – governor (PHOTOS)

Kiev appears to have ramped up kamikaze UAV launches amid rising pressure to strike a peace deal with Moscow

A Ukrainian kamikaze drone struck a residential high-rise in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don overnight, according to acting Rostov Region Governor Yury Slyusar.

Russia’s military said it intercepted more than 110 Ukrainian kamikaze drones overnight, most over the Kursk, Bryansk and Kaluga regions. Another 44 drones were shot down between 8am and noon Moscow time.

The drone impact in Rostov caused a fire on the 18th floor of a 20-story building, Slyusar said, adding that no casualties were reported because the damaged apartment was unoccupied.

In Kaluga Region, debris from a downed drone hit a private home, causing damage, Governor Vladislav Shapsha said. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that two drones were destroyed en route to the Russian capital.

Ukrainian forces have stepped up the use of long-range drones to strike deep inside Russia, as battlefield conditions worsen for Kiev’s troops. Russian officials have accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in some cases, calling such tactics acts of terrorism.

Russia has conducted its own long-range strikes, but maintains that it targets only military-related sites such as troop concentrations, weapons depots and fuel storage facilities.

Kiev is currently facing mounting domestic and international pressure to seek a compromise peace with Moscow. On Friday, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky rejected a US call to consider territorial concessions in exchange for a truce.

READ MORE: Zelensky trashes Trump’s peace demands

This week also marked the anniversary of Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region – territory Kiev does not claim. Ukrainian commander-in-chief Aleksandr Syrsky called the operation a “brilliant” morale boost despite losses on the battlefield, telling local media he was planning more offensives because “you can’t achieve victory by defending.”

Russian forces repelled the Kursk incursion in April, with Moscow estimating Ukrainian military losses at roughly 76,000.