Two people were killed and several others injured when a Ukrainian military drone targeted a Russian border checkpoint in the Rostov region on Wednesday, according to Russian authorities.
The drone, which was identified as a Bayraktar TB2, fired two missiles at the checkpoint near the town of Novoshakhtinsk, hitting a bus and a car, the regional branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement.
The FSB said it had intercepted and destroyed the drone, which had violated Russian airspace from the direction of Ukraine. It also said it had launched a criminal investigation into the incident, which it called a “provocation” aimed at escalating tensions in the region.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry denied any involvement in the drone strike, saying it was a “false flag” operation by Russia to justify its aggression against Ukraine. It also said it did not possess any Bayraktar TB2 drones, which are manufactured by Turkey and have been used by Azerbaijan in the recent Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.