Russia used nine drones in an overnight blitz against a hotel that the Kremlin alleged housed ‘English-speaking mercenaries’.
These claims of foreign fighters, which the Russians cited from their ‘underground troops,’ have not been verified.
An onslaught of Iranian-made Shahed drones blew up the hotel in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. The region’s governor Vitaly Kim confirmed that the hotel was “heavily damaged” as photos emerged of firefighters attending the scene.
Mr Kim said: “The enemy attacked the city with an unmanned aerial vehicle of the ‘Shahed-131/136’ type. As a result, a hotel building was heavily damaged and a fire broke out, which was quickly extinguished. There are no casualties.”
It is not the first time that Russia has claimed it had targeted English-speaking mercenaries.
Earlier this year, Russian strikes on hotels in Kharkiv targeted mercenaries but it was later revealed that the missiles had injured foreign journalists and local staff.
The latest barrage of missiles comes as Russia continues to take strides in the war against Ukraine.
Russian troops have advanced near the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka and seized two more villages on Sunday.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said it had overrun Solovyove and Novokalynove and pushed forward to the west.
Oleksandr Syrsky, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, admitted that his troops had fallen back to new positions west of Berdychi and Semenivka, both north of Avdiivka.
However, he did not confirm the Russian reports of two more villages being taken.
Mr Syrskyi said Russian troops “achieved certain tactical successes in these areas, but could not gain operational advantages”.
Ukrainian officials fear it will take “one to two months” before the long-awaited $61bn (£48bn) of US military aid reaches frontline troops and allows them to counter Russian attacks. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Kremlin seeks to exploit a window of opportunity before US aid is delivered.
