Russia claims interception of 146 drones in Leningrad region 

Russia has said it has ‌shot down more than 140 drones in an ongoing attack on the country’s Leningrad region northwest of Moscow.

“A total of 146 drones have been downed over the Leningrad Region,” Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said on Telegram on Tuesday, Russia’s state TASS news agency reported, adding that “the counter-action is ongoing”.

It is unclear where the drones came from, but on Monday, a Ukrainian drone struck Russia’s second-largest oil refinery in Kirishi, also in the Leningrad region, according to the Reuters news agency. ⁠Local authorities said a woman had been killed in ⁠the attack.

A ⁠drone attack also ⁠caused a fire ⁠in the port area of ‌Ust-Luga by the Baltic Sea in the province, Drozdenko said ⁠on Telegram ⁠on Wednesday.

The escalation comes as US-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), entered their second and final day on Wednesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first day of talks was “constructive and quite substantive”.

The attacks in Russia also came as TASS reported that Ukrainian forces had fired at least 31 artillery shells on Ukraine’s Moscow-occupied Donetsk region in 24 hours, wounding three civilians.

Of these attacks, 23 occurred in the Horlivka area, where a couple was also wounded in a drone strike on a vehicle, according to TASS.

Attacks were also reported in Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian officials said on Telegram.

Following the escalation, Latvia and Lithuania warned ⁠residents to seek shelter against ⁠the threats posed by unidentified drones entering their airspace via Russia or Belarus.

The Baltic states said NATO air defence and fighter jets were activated as a result of the airspace violations.