MOSCOW - Five police officers were killed and six others injured following a Ukrainian attack in the Kherson region, Russian authorities said on Monday.

According to the regional office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the attack occurred on Saturday afternoon when Ukrainian forces launched a strike targeting officers of the Golopristansky district police department.

The victims were killed while performing their duties, it said, adding that the injured officers were hospitalized for medical treatment.

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Meanwhile, Russian air defenses shot down 172 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia's Defense Ministry said Monday.

"Between 11 pm Moscow time (2000 GMT) on March 1 and 7 am Moscow time (0400 GMT) on March 2, on-duty air defense units intercepted and destroyed 172 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type," the ministry said in a statement.

The drones mainly targeted the Black Sea region, with 67 of them downed over the Black Sea and 66 over the Krasnodar region in southern Russia.

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Five people were wounded as a result of the attack on the port city of Novorossiysk in Krasnodar, said local authorities.

At least 17 houses were damaged, including eight high-rise apartment buildings, and a daycare center, while a state of emergency has been declared in the city.