Kyiv, September 29: More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia on Sunday, officials said, sparking a wildfire and setting an apartment block alight in one of the largest barrages seen over Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia's Ministry of Defence reported that it had shot down 125 drones overnight across seven regions. The southwestern region of Volgograd came under particularly heavy fire, with 67 Ukrainian drones reportedly downed by Russian air defences. Russia Blast: 13 Killed in Explosion Triggering Fire at Gas Station in Dagestan (Watch Videos).

Russian ground assault warnings Elsewhere, 16 civilians were injured in an overnight barrage on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia after Ukrainian military leaders warned that Moscow could be preparing for a new military offensive in the country's south.

The city was targeted by Russian guide bombs in 10 separate attacks that damaged a high-rise building and several residential homes, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov wrote on his official Telegram channel. More people could still be trapped beneath the rubble, he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that the Zaporizhzhia attack had damaged the city's transport links. “Today, Russia struck Zaporizhzhia with aerial bombs. Ordinary residential buildings were damaged and the entrance of one building was destroyed. The city's infrastructure and railway were also damaged,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. Russia-Ukraine War: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Calls for Global Support After Russian Shelling Strikes Residential Building, Injuring 30 Including 3 Children in Kharkiv (See Pic and Videos).

The Ukrainian leader appeared Sunday at a memorial service to make the 83rd anniversary of the Babyn Yar massacre, one of the most infamous mass slaughters of World War II. Babyn Yar, a ravine in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, is where nearly 34,000 Jews were killed within 48 hours in 1941 when the city was under Nazi occupation.

“Babyn Yar is vivid proof of the atrocities that regimes are capable of when led by leaders who rely on intimidation and violence. At any time, they are no different,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “But the world's response should be different. This is the lesson the world should have learned. We must guard humanity, life, and justice.”

The Ukrainian military warned Saturday that Russian forces may be preparing for offensive operations in the wider Zaporizhzhia region. Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for Ukraine's southern military command, said that Russia was amassing personnel in this direction.

Ukraine's air force also reported that 22 Russian drones were launched over the country overnight. It said that 15 were shot down in Ukraine's Sumy, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv, and Odesa regions, and that five more were destroyed using electronic defences. The fate of the remaining two drones was not specified.

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