Russia says it downs 16 Ukraine-launched missiles, 31 drones

(Reuters) -The Russian defence ministry said on Monday its air defence systems destroyed 16 missiles and 31 drones that Ukraine launched at Russian territory overnight, including 12 missiles over the battered border region of Belgorod.

Five houses were damaged in Belgorod, but according to preliminary information, there were no injuries, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

On Sunday, 15 people were killed in Belgorod when a section of an apartment block collapsed after being struck by fragments of a Soviet-era missile, launched by Ukraine and shot down by Russian forces, Russia said.

The Russian defence ministry said on Monday the 12 guided missiles were launched from a Ukrainian Vilkha multiple rocket launcher.

The ministry also said four Storm Shadow aircraft guided missiles and seven drones were downed over Crimea, eight drones were destroyed over the Kursk region and four were intercepted over the Lipetsk region.

A drone sparked a short-lived fire at an electrical substation in the Kursk region, Igor Artamonov, the governor of the region in Russia’s south, wrote on Telegram.

“There are no casualties. The fire in the territory of the electrical substation is being extinguished,” Artamonov said.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv says that targeting Russia’s military, transport and energy infrastructure undermines Moscow’s war effort and is an answer to the countless deadly attacks by Russia.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Stephen Coates and Lincoln Feast.)