Ukraine says it struck weapons facility in Russia's Kursk region

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's military said it struck a Russian storage facility for weapons and military equipment in the western Russian region of Kursk overnight, the latest in a series of strikes by Kyiv in that area.

In a statement on Wednesday, the military said it was working to assess the damage it had inflicted. Russia, it said, engaged its air defences to try to counter the attack, but explosions were visible at the target locations.

Russia's defence ministry said earlier it had destroyed one incoming drone and a Ukrainian Neptun guided missile over the Kursk region. It said it shot down 18 more drones over four other Russian regions and the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.

In other attacks on Kursk region this month, Ukraine has said it has targeted power substations and oil depots.

After 29 months of the full-scale war with Russia, Ukraine has used long-range drones to strike strategic targets, ranging from oil facilities to military radars, located as far as 1,500 km (932 miles) away.

It has also prioritised improving its missile production to reduce its gap in capabilities against Russia, which has an array of different types of missiles.

Ukraine's digital minister told Reuters earlier this year that the country would produce thousands of long-range drones capable of deep strikes into Russia in 2024 to narrow the gap with Russia's strike capabilities.

Ukraine's air force on Wednesday said it had repelled one of Russia's largest long-range drone attacks of the war, shooting down all 89 drones launched at Kyiv, the surrounding region and other areas overnight.

(Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Conor Humphries)