Ukrainian drone attack kills one in Russia's Lipetsk, regional governor says

(Reuters) - A woman in her 70s was killed, and two other people injured, by falling debris from a destroyed Ukrainian drone in Russia's southwestern region of Lipetsk, regional governor Igor Artamonov said early on Thursday, July 3.

The debris fell on a residential building in the district surrounding the regional capital, killing the woman and injuring two more, Artamonov said on the Telegram messaging app.

"Signals about falling debris are coming from various areas," Artamonov added. "Rescue services and emergency agencies are working in an enhanced mode."

The scale of the attack and the full damage were not immediately known. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine about the attack.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in their strikes during the war that Russia launched against Ukraine more than three years ago. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.

Ukraine has launched multiple air strikes into Lipetsk, a strategically important region with an air base that is the chief training centre for the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Kyiv has been attacking Russian airbases to reduce Moscow's ability to use its warplanes to strike targets in Ukraine and hammer front lines with guided bombs and missiles. In August, the Ukrainian military said it had hit the Lipetsk airfield, damaging stockpiles of guided bombs and causing a series of explosions.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Kate Mayberry)