Ukraine said Thursday its air defenses shot down seven Russian aerial drones that targeted areas in central and eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian air force said the intercepts took place over the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Poltava regions.
In the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said Russian shelling killed one person and damaged homes, while a missile attack injured one person.
Russia’s defense ministry said Wednesday it shot down a Ukrainian aerial drone over the Belgorod region, which is located across the border from Kharkiv.
Belgorod Vyacheslav Gladkov said Ukrainian drones struck three villages, damaging at least five homes. Gladkov said there were no reports of injuries.
In Bryansk, another border region, officials said air defenses shot down three Ukrainian aerial drones, but that there were no reports of injuries or damage.
Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov reported a Ukrainian drone attack that hit a bus and injured the driver.
U.S. officials said Wednesday Ukraine had received its first shipment of F-16 fighter jets from the West, something Ukraine has been seeking for months to help it beat back the Russian invasion of its territory.
Ukraine says the F-16s are crucial because of their ability to suppress enemy air defenses.
Western allies have been slow in agreeing to supply the jets because they were fearful of escalating the conflict with Russia.
It was not immediately clear how many of the jets were included in the shipment.
NATO members Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands have pledged to provide more than 60 of the jets to Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to allow allies to send the U.S.-built jets to Ukraine a year ago, after repeated requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO allies.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
