Russia claims to down 20 Ukrainian drones in Kursk.

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Russian air defense units on June 3 allegedly intercepted 20 Ukrainian drones in the southern Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, according to regional governor Alexei Smirnov. Smirnov said via Telegram that Ukrainian forces reportedly targeted four villages in the region using attack drones and helicopters. No injuries were reported.

In the neighboring Belgorod Oblast to the southeast, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that air defense units had downed "several airborne targets," resulting in some damage to the roofs of several buildings. Ukrainian authorities have not commented. The Kyiv Independent couldn't immediately verify the reports.

Russia has been reporting drone attacks against its border regions for several months. Belgorod Oblast borders Ukraine's Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk oblasts. Claims of rocket or drone attacks against the region have recently become a common occurrence after anti-Kremlin Russian militias' incursions into the border areas.

The U.S. gave Ukraine permission to use American weapons to strike targets in Russia across the border from both Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, Michael Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, told the TSN news program on May 31. Earlier in the day, Ukraine's president spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Washington had lifted the ban on strikes with U.S.-supplied weapons inside Russia near the border with Kharkiv Oblast.

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