UPDATE - Russia says 1 killed, industrial facility damaged in Saratov region amid Ukrainian drone attack

UPDATES WITH DETAILS & STATEMENT BY UKRAINIAN GENERAL STAFF; REVISES DECK & LEDE; MINOR EDITS

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia said early Sunday that at least one person was killed in the country’s Saratov region amid an overnight Ukrainian drone attack, which it said also damaged an industrial facility in the region.

“Several residents needed medical assistance. It was provided on the spot, one person was hospitalized in a medical facility. Unfortunately, there is one fatality,” Saratov Governor Roman Busargin said in a statement on Telegram.

Busargin stated that the fatality was the result of falling debris from downed Ukrainian drones which fell on a courtyard in front of a residential building.

The governor said that residents of three apartment buildings were evacuated following the incident, and that a temporary accommodation center was organized for the residents at a nearby school. He further reported that cars nearby and windows in some apartments were damaged.

Earlier, Busargin also reported damage at an industrial enterprise in the region, and that emergency services are working at the scene. He provided no further details on what kind of facility was damaged.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses intercepted 121 Ukrainian drones during the overnight attack, eight of which were downed over the Saratov region, the administrative center of which is situated on the Volga River and about 460 kilometers (285 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.

Ukrainian authorities have not commented on Russia’s claim, though Ukraine’s General Staff claimed it struck the Saratov Oil Refinery, which it defined as “one of the key facilities of the fuel infrastructure of the Russian Federation," causing explosions and a fire.

The claim comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are set to meet in Alaska on Friday to discuss ending the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between two sitting Russian and US presidents since June 2021.