Ukraine launched over 100 drones targeting Russian energy infrastructure. One Russian official said that a nuclear power plant was among the targets.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, overnight Tuesday, its forces downed more than 100 Ukrainian drones. The UAVs targeted Russian energy infrastructure over a widespread area.

One of the drones was downed in the Smolensk Region near a nuclear facility. “According to preliminary information, one of the drones was shot down during an attempt to attack a nuclear power facility,” the region’s Governor Vasily Anokhin said. “There were no casualties or damage,” he added.

In the Belgorod Region, Russian authorities reported a drone killed a woman and her 2-year-old child.

Recently, Kiev has stepped up its drone strikes in Russia. Earlier this month, Ukraine launched its largest drone and missile barrage of the war. Among the targets was the TurkStream pipeline, which transports gas from Russia to Turkey.

Moscow typically responds to Ukrainian attacks inside Russia by bombing cities and infrastructure. Following a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia in December, President Putin said, “Whoever and however tries to destroy something in our country, he will face destruction many times larger in his own country and will regret its attempts to do that in our country.”

Additionally, the Kremlin often blames Washington for its role in supplying Kiev with the necessary arms, funding, and intelligence to conduct attacks in Russia.

Near the end of the Biden administration, an official spoke with the New York Times and confirmed Washington had given Kiev at least $1.5 billion to develop a domestic drone program. “US officials said that they had made big investments that helped Ukraine start and expand its production of drones as it battled Russia’s larger and better-equipped army,” The Times explained.

In October, the Times reported that President Biden sent Kiev $800 million to buy long-range drones from Ukrainian arms makers.