Officials in Ukraine said that a Russian rocket attack on Wednesday killed two people and injured at least seven others near Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

Although initially, Yuriy Malashko, the regional governor, said that three people died in the attack on a residential area in the Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, later it was revealed that one person had been revived and two others had passed away.

Persistent fears of a nuclear accident have been raised in the surroundings of the nuclear power plant due to the shelling that has been occurring since the early weeks of the Russian occupation of the city, which is located approximately 30 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Authorities reported that a blast occurred at a facility situated in the vicinity of Moscow, responsible for manufacturing optical devices for Russia’s security personnel. The incident resulted in the unfortunate death of an individual, injuries to 60 people, and a minimum of eight individuals whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Russian officials said earlier that two drones were shot down overnight in the capital, aimed at an attempted attack on Ukraine. These drone attacks in Moscow have added to recent nighttime jitters, as a tall plume of black smoke produced in the city of Sergiev Posad caused an explosion, though Russian officials did not provide the suspected cause.

According to Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the area encompassing the Russian capital, the explosion took place at a facility where fireworks were stored, but it occurred within the premises of the Zagorsk optics manufacturing plant. He mentioned that the blast resulted in significant damage to 38 residential buildings and necessitated the evacuation of neighboring regions.

“For quite some time now,” Vorobyov stated, “the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant has been unrelated to optics or mechanics.” He asserted that the plant primarily manufactured pyrotechnics, but mentioned that the company leased the warehouse for storage purposes.

The factory, as stated in a 1995 report by the U.S. Department of Commerce, is a manufacturer of accurate optical equipment primarily for the military. The company’s website states that it continues to produce those items, along with medical equipment.

According to a report from Russian investigative news outlet Agentstvo on Wednesday, the facility provided Russia’s National Guard with binoculars and dosimeters, manufactured military aircraft equipment, and participated in the creation of a new fighter-bomber.

Firefighters sprayed water on the severely damaged industrial debris. Footage from the location depicted emergency teams with scent-tracking dogs traversing the remains of small brick structures. Russian officials expressed concerns that five individuals were unaccounted for following the blast.

Some Russian media reported that the blast at the manufacturing plant site was attributed to a drone attack, which was refuted by various Russian authorities, including Vorobyov and Russia’s Investigative Committee.

The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top criminal investigations agency, has launched a criminal inquiry into charges of violating safety requirements at industrial facilities, stating this in a statement.

Russian officials described the downed drones as Russia’s latest effort to target the Russian capital in a supposed mission to unsettle Muscovites and escalate the conflict in Ukraine onto Russian soil.

Sergei Sobyanin, the Mayor, stated that there were no casualties and the unmanned aerial vehicles were intercepted as they were heading towards Moscow. The Russian Defense Ministry referred to the event as a “terrorist attack.”

As stated by Sobyanin, the remaining one landed close to the Minsk roadway on the western side of the urban center, while a drone descended in the Domodedovo region situated to the south of Moscow. Moscow Domodedovo Airport, which is among the most bustling airports in the Russian capital, is located there.

Ukraine typically neither confirms nor denies such attacks. Ukrainian authorities did not provide an immediate response, and the origin of the drones’ launch remained unclear.

Flights at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport were briefly halted on 30 July and 1 August when drones smashed into the district business of Moscow after two incidents of air defenses being jammed.

In May, Ukrainian authorities accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of attempting to assassinate the Kremlin with two drones, in an effort to target the capital of Russia-annexed Crimea.

According to reports from Ukrainian media on social media blogs, the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol observed a dense cloud of smoke rising, marking another concerning incident.

The governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said the smoke came from a “fleet training exercise” and urged local residents not to worry.

“Yes, the odor is unpleasant, but it is completely secure,” he stated on Telegram. “Everything is peaceful in the town.”

Against the backdrop of ongoing counteroffensive in Ukraine, incidents like those occurred, which will be a long slog for Western and Ukrainian officials against the deeply entrenched forces of the Kremlin.

Wednesday, Hanna Maliar, the deputy defense minister of Ukraine, stated on her official Telegram channel that intense conflicts are occurring in the eastern regions, where Russia is resisting the Ukrainian forces.

“According to her, there are frequent shifts in position in certain areas of the front-line within a single day.”

She stated that the endeavors of Ukraine had attained “incomplete accomplishment” in the southern region. She provided no specifics.

It was not feasible to autonomously authenticate the assertions of either party.

Emma Burrows filed a report from the city of London.

Stay updated on the conflict in Ukraine through AP’s reporting at https://apnews.Com/hub/russia-ukraine.