### Drone Strikes Trigger Multiple Fires Across Russia

A series of devastating fires engulfed various parts of Russia following an overnight drone assault aimed at air bases and military towns. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it intercepted and destroyed 125 Ukrainian drones across different regions during the night of September 28-29.

The Ministry elaborated that 67 Ukrainian UAVs were taken down over the Volgograd region, 17 each in the Belgorod and Voronezh regions, 18 in the Rostov region, one each in Bryansk, Kursk, and Krasnodar Krai, as well as three over the Sea of Azov.

In the Volgograd region, the result was at least three fires near an ammunition depot in Kotluban, which were reported by ASTRA, a Telegram channel focused on Russia-Ukraine war news, and confirmed by NASA's FIRMS fire monitoring system. Despite these recorded fires, it remains unclear if the facility was directly hit. FIRMS data showed several ongoing fires in Kotluban over the past 24 hours.

Local residents had previously reported a fire in the village of Sady Pridonya, approximately 30 kilometers from Kotluban. Although videos purporting to show a blaze from the drone attack in Kotluban are circulating online, these were debunked by ASTRA and Ukrainian newspaper Strana, identifying them as footage from a 2021 container explosion in Dubai’s Jebel Ali port.

Andrey Ivanovich Bocharov, the governor of the Volgograd region, stated that the fires resulted from dry grass igniting due to falling debris and were quickly extinguished by firefighting units with no casualties or damage to military or civilian infrastructure. This was corroborated by Igor Davydenko, head of Kotluban, who confirmed no casualties or damages in Sady Pridonya.

The Millerovo air base in the Rostov region also came under attack, as reported by military blog @oko_gora and ASTRA. FIRMS indicated several active fires near the air base in the last 24 hours. However, regional governor Vasily Golubev reassured that there were no casualties or damages on the ground. Millerovo had previously been targeted by Ukrainian drones in July, an attack that caused minimal damage, according to Russian military blogger, Rybar.

In Krasnodar Krai, explosions were reported in the military town of Yeysk, home to a Russian Navy airfield, according to local Telegram groups cited by ASTRA.

Both the Russian and Ukrainian Defense Ministries have been approached for comments regarding the incidents.