War. The drones have arrived.
From May to August 2023, nearly 1000 drones flew to 17 regions of Russia and carried out more than 500 attacks.
The largest drone attack to date occurred on the night of August 29-30. UAVs reached seven regions: Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Oryol, Ryazan, Moscow, and Sevastopol. Four Il-76 transport aircraft burned at the Pskov military-civilian airfield, closing the airspace to all flights, and disruptions occurred at Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky airports in Moscow.
NeMoscow has counted drone attacks on targets in the Russian Federation over the past four months.
How did we count?
We selected mentions of attacks and UAV numbers in governors' Telegram accounts, in Russian Ministry of Defense reports, and in popular regional public groups from May 1 to August 31, 2023.
The statistics include Russian-occupied Crimea (The editorial board of NeMoskva, guided by the norms of international law, does not consider this territory to be RussianOops). Strikes on Ukrainian territory occupied by the Russian Federation since February 24, 2022, were not counted, as statistics in frontline areas are inherently distorted.
Drone attacks began four months after the start of military operations, but they became particularly widespread in May of this year, when drone explosions in the Kremlin caused the dome of the Senate Tower to burn.
From May to the end of summer, the heads of 17 Russian regions reported downed, recovered, or exploded UAVs. Almost all regions are located less than 1000 km from the Russian-Ukrainian border, allowing drones to reach their targets even from within Ukraine.
During the war, the terms "drone," "unmanned aerial vehicle," and "quadcopter" became commonplace. Which of these vehicles, loaded with explosives, reaches Russian cities? How do they differ from each other?
Drone These are autonomously navigating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that navigate the air, water, and land. Humans are not directly involved, but are controlled remotely. The drone must be connected to a control panel, and its flight range can reach 20-50 km.
Drone or unmanned aerial vehicle, short name UAV – moves only by air. Therefore, it could be a drone, but only if it flies. UAVs follow a predetermined route; military models have a built-in automatic target recognition system and can carry weapons. They are controlled by an operator and are often called remotely piloted vehicles. They are often equipped with video cameras and a variety of other sensors. Expensive models can cover distances of up to 1000 km.
There are quadrocopters, which are driven by propellers; there can be anywhere from three to eight of them. Quadcopters are primarily used for civilian purposes.
During the war, all flying vehicles carrying explosives, for reconnaissance purposes, professional, homemade, began to be called drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs.
What UAVs does the Ukrainian Armed Forces use for strikes on Russian territory?
Below are the six main UAVs that the Ukrainian Armed Forces use to carry out strikes against Russia, as well as to collect intelligence.
The Shark drone
The Shark reconnaissance drone, produced by the Ukrainian company Ukrspecsystems, is designed for fire adjustment and is also used for the American HIMARS multiple launch rocket system. Equipped with a 30x zoom camera, it has a range of up to 60 km.
Fury drone
They have been in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2020 and are manufactured by the Ukrainian company Atlon Avia. Their purpose is similar to the Akula. They have a range of up to 50 km and reach speeds of up to 140 km/h.
Identifies the target with an accuracy of up to 20 meters and adjusts salvo fire.
Valkyrie drone
Developed by Aviation Systems of Ukraine in 2015, the Valkyrie UAV is currently in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It provides high-resolution day and night imaging, reconnaissance, monitoring, and video surveillance, and can adjust artillery fire. It has a fixed wing and is equipped with 4K cameras, thermal imagers, and gyrostabilized platforms. From a control panel, it can fly up to 34 km at a speed of 110 km/h.
UJ-22 Airborne kamikaze drones
The new UJ-22 Airborne drone, developed by the Ukrainian company Ukrjet, was unveiled in 2021. It can conduct reconnaissance and carry explosives and other munitions weighing up to 20 kg. It has a speed of up to 160 km/h and a range of up to 800 km from its launch site.
The UJ-22 Airborne is equipped with a US-made engine and weighs 100 kg. These drones have flown as far as the Moscow region.
American Switchblade 600 drones
The Switchblade kamikaze drone, controlled via satellite, strikes targets up to 80 km away. It is launched from a transport and launch container mounted on vehicles, helicopters, and boats.
Its warhead is similar to that of the Javelin anti-tank missile. It is used to destroy personnel and equipment. It weighs almost 23 kg and can remain in flight for 40 minutes.
Beaver drone
In the summer of 2023, Ukraine began using a new kamikaze drone, the "Bober." The UAV can hit targets up to 1000 km away and features a canard configuration, resembling an airplane with a small forward section of the main wing. It weighs 150 kg, carries a 20 kg warhead, including up to 2 kg of explosives, and flies at speeds of 150 km/h. It is 2,5 meters long and has a wingspan of 3 meters. The "Bober" drone is manufactured in Ukraine by order of the Ministry of Defense. The "Bober" participated in the attacks on Moscow.
Soviet "Swift"
The first Soviet drone, mass-produced in 1979. Equipped with optical and radar systems, it can conduct reconnaissance and target acquisition. It is 14 meters long and weighs five tons. It can reach speeds of 1110 km/h, has a range of 1000 km, and flies at an altitude of 6 km. For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, it was equipped with GPS navigation and the ability to carry explosives.
It was the Strizh that struck the Dyagilevo military airfield in Ryazan on December 5, 2022, killing three soldiers and wounding seven.
In just 123 days, 543 attacks involving 918 drones have been reported. (Most likely. The actual number of drones involved in the attacks is higher; not all of them were recorded).
Essentially, every day, or more precisely every night, since the landings take place precisely at night, an average of 4 UAVs fly to their targets and in almost 90% of cases they carry explosives.
In addition to regions bordering Ukraine, Moscow and the Moscow region were among the top five most attacked regions. For example, 357 attacks were reported in the Belgorod region, 49 in the Bryansk region, 29 in the Kursk region, 26 in Crimea, and Moscow and the Moscow region ranked fifth with 23 drone strikes. It's quite possible that more drone strikes could have occurred had UAVs not been shot down, for example, in the Kaluga region.
The Belgorod region is bearing the brunt of the attacks. There are wounded and dead here.
Drone flights have become a regular occurrence in the Kursk and Bryansk regions. The very first attack involving explosives occurred in the Kursk region on June 22, 2022, when Governor Roman Starovoit reported on Telegram that a drone had flown into the Belovsky District and "managed to drop its ammunition near the village of Kucherov."
Ukraine's use of UAVs was particularly active from mid-May to the end of June this year; their use decreased in July, but since the beginning of August, drone attacks on Russian regions have been mentioned almost daily.
Last August kept Muscovites on edge: of the 23 attacks over four months, the majority occurred in the last month of summer. For six days in a row, from August 18th to 23rd, drones flew into Moscow daily. On the night of August 29th to 30th, a drone was shot down in the Ruzsky District of the Moscow Region.
Before May 3, when drones reached the Kremlin roof, only two references to Ukrainian drones could be found: last February, a drone crashed near the village of Gubastovo near Kolomna, and then, in April, near the village of Vorovsky in the northeastern Moscow region.
Since the beginning of the war in Russia, the use of drones has required special permission, but regional leaders have gradually begun imposing blanket bans. After the Kremlin explosion, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also imposed one. Today, more than 60 regions have banned the use of drones. In addition to the ban, residents in many regions are being urged not to publish photos and videos from the sites of drone explosions and crashes; there is even talk of passing such a ban by law. They say the images help the enemy more accurately target future targets.
Why does air defense allow UAVs to pass?
According to Eduard Baghdasaryan, head of Aerocon, modern air defense systems are designed to detect much larger objects, while drones are barely visible to radar. Furthermore, there are simply no resources to monitor every meter of the border.
Most military experts agree that drone attacks will only increase in the near future. Life has become dangerous not only in Novaya Tavolzhanka in the Belgorod region, but also within the Garden Ring in Moscow.
What were the targets of drone attacks in 17 regions of Russia from May 1 to August 31?
Belgorod region
The Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, is a target for attacks every day, with not only drones carrying grenades but also missiles, mines, and other munitions. Over the past four months, 357 attacks have occurred. The Belgorod region is subjected to the most massive drone and missile strikes, almost every minute. Essentially, a war has been raging here for over a year and a half, with Russian citizens wounded and killed.
May
Attacks: more 45
Arrivals: more than 50 UAVs
Objects: civilian homes, power lines, communication facilities, schools, shopping centers, cars, roads, TV towers
June
Attacks: 150
Arrivals: 157 UAVs
Objects: civilian homes, agricultural machinery, businesses, highways
On June 1, in Belgorod, a drone struck a road and a passing car, injuring two men; one was taken to the hospital with a concussion. On June 4, in the village of Dragunskoye, a drone dropped two explosive devices, wounding a local resident in the car in the lower back.
Several massive drone attacks occurred in June. On June 5, for example, in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, UAVs dropped 12 explosive devices on residential buildings, damaging approximately 20 homes. And on June 6, drones dropped munitions 26 times in Shebekino.
On June 8, fragments from a drone injured a herder who was grazing cows in the village of Vyazovoe.
On June 18, in the village of Novopetrivka in the Valuysky urban district, a drone dropped three explosive devices, damaging one passenger car with a trailer and a tractor.
July
Attacks: 83
Arrivals: 105 UAVs
Objects: civilian homes, agricultural machinery, businesses, highways
On July 10, in the village of Zhuravlevka in the Belgorod district, a drone dropped an explosive device on a tractor, causing it to burn. On July 30, a drone dropped nine grenades on houses in the same village.
August
Attacks: 79
Arrivals: 83 UAVs
Objects: civilian homes, power lines, communication facilities, a sanatorium
On August 13, a drone crashed into an apartment building on Yesenin Street in Belgorod. A 10-year-old girl playing in the courtyard was injured by the blast: shrapnel struck her right elbow, shins, forearms, and feet. Windows were shattered in five apartments, air conditioners were damaged, the building's façade was damaged, and 16 cars were damaged.
On August 22, a drone dropped four fragmentation munitions on a sanatorium in the village of Lavy in the Valuysky urban district. Three civilians were killed. Windows and the building's facade were damaged on two floors of the sanatorium.
On August 26, in the village of Shchetinovka in the Belgorod region, two explosive devices were dropped from a drone, killing a civilian.
On August 27, a summer resident died in the village of Shchetinovka in the Belgorod region. He was mowing the grass when a drone dropped explosives.
Bryansk region
After the Belgorod region, the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine and has been subject to drone attacks since 2022, had the second highest number of summer attacks. Over 120 days, it suffered 49 attacks involving 84 UAVs.
May
Attacks: 14
Arrivals: more than 30 UAVs
Objects: a military airfield, residential buildings, the Klintsovskaya oil depot of Rosneft, the Konservsushprod enterprise, a military warehouse with Ural trucks and howitzers, the Novye Yurkovichi checkpoint, and an electrical substation in the Klimovsky district
On the night of May 3, five Ukrainian Armed Forces drones attacked a military airfield in the Bryansk region. An AN-24 aircraft was damaged. Rosneft's Klintsy oil depot was attacked by drones on May 11.
Four Ural vehicles and a howitzer were damaged in a drone attack on a military warehouse in the village of Polevye Novosyolki in the Suzemsky District.
June
Attacks: 13
Arrivals: more than 20 UAVs
Objects: The Strela JSC transformer plant in Suzemka, the Transneft-Druzhba oil pipeline, the Druzhba oil refinery, the Maritskaya electrical substation, the defense plant in Suzemka, and cell phone towers
In June, drone strikes hit the Strela JSC transformer plant in the village of Suzemka on June 7. UAVs carrying explosives repeatedly flew to the Druzhba oil refinery in the Novozybkovsky urban district. On June 23, drones struck a defense plant in the village of Suzemka.
July
Attacks: 6
Arrivals: 7 UAVs
Objects: a substation in the Klimovsky district and power lines, the Druzhba oil pipeline, the Konservsushprod dry rations plant in Starodub, cell phone towers, boiler houses, and the Trebchevsky district police building
In July, kamikaze drones attacked the Druzhba oil pipeline pumping station, and on July 13, the Konservsushprod plant in Starodub, which produces dry rations for state defense orders, canned goods, and dairy products.
On July 31, a UAV dropped explosives on the Trebchevsky District police building.
August
Attacks: 16
Arrivals: 27 UAVs
Objects: A cell tower in Novye Yurkovichi, a power line, a military airfield, the Investigative Committee building, a television tower, and the Kremniy EL microelectronics plant in Bryansk
On August 28, Ukrainian drones struck a military airfield with three kamikaze drones.
On the night of August 30, when Ukraine attacked seven Russian regions, the Investigative Committee building and the television tower in Bryansk were hit, and Russia's largest microelectronics plant, Silicon EL, was on fire.
On the last day of summer, a UAV carrying 15 kg of American C-4 plastic explosive flew into Bryansk.
Kursk region
The Kursk region, which shares a border with Ukraine, like the Belgorod and Bryansk regions, is constantly subject to drone and missile attacks. From May 1 to August 31, the region suffered 29 attacks.
May
Attacks: 8
Arrivals: 11 UAVs
Objects: residential buildings, a military airfield in the village of Khalino, the building of the border department of the Federal Security Service for the Kursk region – five border guards were injured, a substation in the Sudzhansky district, cell phone towers
On May 16, border guards shot down Ukrainian suicide drones in the Sudzhansky district. They were stopped right at the border. Both UAVs exploded upon impact. Shrapnel only damaged a nearby excavator.
In the Sudzhansky district, near the village of Plekhovo, a Ukrainian drone dropped an explosive device on a working excavator. The explosion resulted in a minor injury to the shoulder of the construction equipment driver. He was quickly taken to the Sudzhansky Central District Hospital, where he is receiving treatment, including from Moscow surgeons.
Five border guards were injured on May 15 in the village of Glushkovo following an attack by a Ukrainian drone on the building of the border department of the Federal Security Service (FSB) for the Kursk region.
On May 16, in the Sudzhansky district, a drone dropped explosives on a working excavator, wounding the driver in the shoulder.
June
Attacks: 8
Arrivals: more than 12 UAVs
Objects: a substation in the Sudzhansky district, residential buildings, the Bel-Pol pillow factory in the Kursky district, and the Sudzha checkpoint
July
Attacks: 3
Arrivals: 3 UAVs
Objects: residential buildings, a high-rise building in Kurchatov, and the Pobeda LLC machine yard
August
Attacks: 10
Arrivals: more than 19 UAVs
Objects: a church in Rylsk, administrative buildings, a grain processing plant and a railway station in Kursk, an alcohol depot of KurskProduct LLC in the Glushkovsky district, residential buildings, an electronic warfare unit in the Kursk district, and the Khalino military airfield
On August 5, a drone dropped explosives in Rylsk, blowing out 35 windows in two buildings and the Church of the Intercession.
Five people were injured during a drone attack on the Kursk railway station on August 20, and on August 27, a UAV crashed into a high-rise building on Karl Marx Street at night. The blast wave damaged the glass of seven balconies and knocked out four windows in seven apartments.
On August 28, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched their first attack on the Kursk region with a swarm of SYPAQ cardboard kamikaze drones, striking a military electronic reconnaissance unit.
Crimea
Over the past four months, 26 attacks on the Crimean Peninsula have been reported, involving nearly 200 drones, often carrying out massive attacks and being destroyed over the Black Sea. Specific targets targeted are rarely reported. The most high-profile attack was the impact of shrapnel from a surface drone on a car on the Crimean Bridge on July 17, killing a family and injuring a teenage girl.
The bridge is periodically closed to traffic due to air raid sirens.
May
Attacks: 3
Arrivals: 11 UAVs
Objects: western Crimea, northern Crimea
June
Attacks: 5
Arrivals: 22 UAVs
Objects: residential buildings in Dzhankoy, Dokuchaevo village
July
Attacks: 10
Arrivals: 83 UAVs
Objects: A family was killed on the Crimean Bridge by a drone explosion, an ammunition depot in the Kirovsky district of Crimea, administrative buildings, a teenage girl was killed, a detonation at an ammunition depot in the Krasnogvardeisky district, an ammunition depot in the Dzhankoy district
Three days after the death of a married couple on the Crimean Bridge on July 17, a teenage girl died in a drone attack in a village in northwestern Crimea.
On July 22, a drone attacked an ammunition depot in the Krasnogvardeisky district and detonated.
August
Attacks: 8
Arrivals: 81 UAVs
Objects: over Crimea and the Black Sea
Moscow and Moscow region
Drone attacks on Moscow and the Moscow region have become commonplace in the second year of the war, despite being 800 km away. From May to the end of the summer, the region suffered 23 attacks using 45 drones. Operation Carpet and the closure of Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo airports for arrivals and departures have become commonplace for Russians this summer.
May
Attacks: 2
Arrivals: 10 UAVs
Objects: Kremlin, residential buildings
The explosion of the dome of the Kremlin's Senate Palace on the night of May 3rd prompted a rethink: the war was not taking place somewhere in Novaya Tavolzhanka, but right at the meeting place of President Putin, who had unleashed the military conflict. He was, however, not in the Kremlin at the time of the two drone attacks.
On May 30, Muscovites themselves experienced the impact of drone attacks when eight of them attacked residential buildings on Leninsky Prospekt, Profsoyuznaya Street, and Atlasova Street in New Moscow. One drone crashed into a 14th-floor apartment on Leninsky Prospekt, injuring two residents.
June
Attacks: 1
Arrivals: 3 UAVs
Objects: military warehouses in a military unit
July
Attacks: 4
Arrivals: about 10 UAVs
Objects: residential buildings, business centers, near which GRU 26165 (military intelligence), Moscow-City
Two towers in the Moscow-City business center were attacked by Ukrainian drones on July 30, one of the buildings being a 50-story tower in the government IQ quarter.
"Ukraine is growing stronger, and the war is gradually returning to Russian territory, to its symbolic centers and military bases," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared in his daily address that day. "This is inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair."
August
Attacks: 16
Arrivals: about 22 UAVs
Objects: Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant in Sergiev Posad, Moscow City, residential buildings
The Moscow City towers were attacked by drones again on August 1, reaching the Odintsovo and Narofominsky districts of the Moscow region. In Sergiev Posad, on August 9, a drone struck the Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant. The explosion shattered windows in nearby buildings. Eight people were injured.
A married couple was injured by a drone strike on August 21 in the Istra urban district of the Moscow region, when debris fell on a garden house in the Dorozhnik gardening community.
There are two victims - a man was hospitalized.
During the most massive attack on the night of August 29-30, one UAV was shot down in the Ruzsky District. The following day, another drone was shot down by air defense forces in the Voskresensky District while heading toward Moscow. Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports were closed to incoming and outgoing flights.
Voronezh region
The Voronezh Region borders Ukraine, but compared to Belgorod and Bryansk, it has been subject to far fewer Ukrainian drone attacks. Over the past four months, 12 attacks involving 16 UAVs have been reported.
May
Attacks: 2
Arrivals: 3 UAVs
Objects: military training ground - about 14 servicemen were injured
On May 15, two Ukrainian drones flew to a military training ground near Voronezh and exploded, injuring 14 soldiers.
June
Attacks: 2
Arrivals: 2 UAVs
Objects: residential building, three injured, AgroTechHolding office"
On June 9, a UAV crashed on Belinsky Street in Voronezh, flying into an empty office. Three people were injured. The drone was heading toward an aircraft factory on Tsiolkovsky Street when electronic warfare jammed it, causing it to drift and go off course.
July
Attacks: 7
Arrivals: about 10 UAVs
ObjectsRosneft's Voronezh oil storage facility on Dimitrov Street, and the Baltimore military airfield.
On July 14, kamikaze drones attempted to attack the Baltimore military airfield near Voronezh. The downed UAVs flew in rapid succession at an altitude of 100 meters and were hit by air defense systems.
August
Attacks: 1
Arrivals: 1 UAVs
Objects: A massive attack on Russian regions on August 30.08 – a drone was shot down in the village of Strelitsa.
During a massive attack on the night of August 29-30, a UAV was shot down in the Semiluksky district in the village of Strelitsa, 22 km from Voronezh.
Sevastopol
Sevastopol has been under constant drone attacks since the start of the war, with 12 attacks reported since May 1st, using more than 60 UAVs.
The reports most often do not report specific targets of attacks; UAVs are shot down in Sevastopol Bay, in the area of the Belbek airfield.
Massive attacks by several dozen drones are often mentioned; for example, on May 7, 22 Ukrainian attack drones were simultaneously detected over the Black Sea.
May
Attacks: 6
Arrivals: 38 UAVs
Objects: Belbek airfield, Kachi region, Black Sea
July
Attacks: 1
Arrivals: 8 UAVs
Objects: a massive attack on Sevastopol over the sea in the area of Cape Khersones, in the area of Sevastopol Bay and Balaklava
August
Attacks: 5
Arrivals: more than 15 UAVs
Objects: Kara-Koba area, Cape Chersonesos area, Sevastopol Bay area
On the night of August 29-30, Sevastopol also came under massive Ukrainian attack. According to Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev, all UAVs were shot down in the Black Sea, but no details were provided.
Rostov region
The Rostov region borders Ukraine, but reports indicate it is not attacked by the Ukrainian Armed Forces as frequently as other regions. Ten attacks involving 11 UAVs have been reported in four months. Ukrainian missiles also land on Rostov soil.
The Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery became the most desirable target; it's where explosive-carrying devices are deployed. The first report of a fire at the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery occurred on June 22, 2022.
On July 5 last year, a UAV crashed into a residential building in Taganrog.
May
Attacks: 3
Arrivals: 2 UAVs
ObjectsNovoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery
A drone crashed and exploded on the grounds of the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery on the night of May 4, causing a small fire.
June
Attacks: 2
Arrivals: 3 UAVs
ObjectsNovoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery
Exactly one year later, on June 22, 2023, two UAVs carrying explosives landed at the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery, extinguishing fires after the explosions.
July
Attacks: 3
Arrivals: 3 UAVs
Objects: residential building in Taganrog, private house
August
Attacks: 2
Arrivals: 3 UAVs
Objects: military unit in Kamensk
On August 20, suicide drones crashed on the territory of a military unit in Kamensk, and another one crashed a kilometer north of Novoshakhtinsk.
Krasnodar
Since the beginning of the war, the Krasnodar Krai, separated from Ukraine by the Black Sea, has been repeatedly attacked. Last February, a drone exploded at an oil depot in Tuapse. In the four months from May 1 to August 31, seven attacks and seven UAV downings were reported.
May
Attacks: 6
Arrivals: more than 8 UAVs
Objects: oil depot in the port of Taman, residential buildings, Ilsky Oil Refinery, Afipsky Oil Refinery
On May 3, Ukrainian drones carrying explosives flew to an oil depot in the port of Taman, near the Crimean Bridge, setting more than 1000 square meters ablaze.
On May 26, drones attacked three targets in Krasnodar: office buildings and residential buildings on Morskaya Street, and a five-story building on Garazhnaya Street.
On the night of May 31, drones attacked two oil refineries – Ilsky and Afipsky.
August
Attacks: 1
Arrivals: 2 surface UAVs
Objects: base in Novorossiysk
Kaluga region
War erupted in the Kaluga region in October 2022, when a drone crashed at the Shaikovka military airfield.
From May 1 to August 31, seven attacks using 20 drones were carried out in the region.
Attacks: 7
Arrivals in August: about 20 UAVs
ObjectsMaloyaroslavsky district, Shaikovka military airfield, oil storage tank in Dzerzhinsky district
August was particularly rich in drone strikes. On the night of August 3, seven drones were detected and shot down by air defense systems in the Kaluga Region. These drones were presumably heading for Moscow, but were shot down before reaching their destination.
The Shaikovka military airfield in the Kaluga region was attacked several times at the end of August.
During the most massive attack on the night of August 29-30 in the Kaluga region, two UAVs were shot down, one in the Sukhinichsky district, the other hit an empty oil storage tank in the Dzerzhinsky district, causing a fire.
Orel region
The Oryol region, which does not share a border with Ukraine, was attacked back in 2022, when a drone blew up an oil depot in the village of Stalnoy Kon in November. Since May, the region has suffered four attacks involving five drones.
Attacks: 4
Arrivals in August: 5 UAVs
Objects: shot down in the Znamensky district, the village of Maslovo in the Soskovsky district, over the Khotynets, Mtsensk, and Korsakovsky districts
Thus, on August 6 and 27, the wreckage of two Ukrainian Armed Forces drones was found in the Oryol region.
According to Governor Andrei Klychkov, three UAVs were destroyed on the night of August 29-30. One crashed in the Korsakovsky District, one was shot down overnight over the Khotynets District, and the other over the Mtsensk District.
The Wagner PMC emblem was found on a drone shot down in the Oryol region.
Pskov region
Two attacks and the arrival of 22 drones occurred in the Pskov region this summer.
May
Attacks: 1
Arrivals: 2 UAVs
Objects: oil pipeline near the village of Litvinovo in the Nevelsky district
August
Attacks: 1
Arrivals: 20 UAVs
Objects: Four Il-76 military transport aircraft burned at a military-civilian airfield in Pskov.
The region suffered particularly badly on the night of August 30th, during a massive attack on seven regions – drone strikes on a military-civilian airfield in Pskov. Flights were cancelled. Four Il-76 military transport aircraft caught fire, causing a serious fire. About 20 drones were involved in the attack.
Ryazan region
The Ryazan region, like the Saratov region, felt the taste of war on December 5, 2022, when Soviet-era drones Tu-141 Swift flew to and exploded at the Dyagilevo airfield in the Ryazan region and Engels in the Saratov region.
In Dyagilevo, three soldiers were killed and seven others were wounded during an attack on bombers. In Saratov, at Engels Airfield, three were killed and four were wounded, and two aircraft were damaged.
This year, the region was hit by one attack involving two drones.
Attacks: 1
Arrivals in August: 2 UAVs
Destroyed on the night of August 30.08 during a massive attack
During a massive drone strike in Russia on the night of August 29-30, two fixed-wing UAVs were shot down by air defense forces in the Ryazan region.
Novgorod region
Attacks: 1
Arrivals in August: 1 UAVs
Objects: Soltsy military airfield, aircraft damaged
On August 19, a drone struck the Soltsy military airfield in the Novgorod region. One aircraft was damaged.
Tver region
Attacks: 1
Arrivals in May: 2 UAVs
ObjectsAndreapol oil refinery near Tver
The Andreapol oil refinery near Tver was attacked. Two drones carrying explosives landed there on May 27. The building and roof were damaged.
The Andreapol oil pumping station is one of the largest production facilities in the region, which ensures the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline.
Smolensk region
Attacks: 1
Arrivals in June: 2 UAVs
Objects: fuel and energy complex facilities in the village of Peresna, Pochinkovsky District, and in the village of Divasy, Smolensk District
Located 300 km from the Ukrainian border.
Tula region
Attacks: 1
Arrivals in August: 2 UAVs
Objects:
In 2023, three UAVs carrying explosives reached Tula. One of them crashed in Kireyevsk on March 26, injuring three people.
On the night of August 29-30, Ukrainian Armed Forces drones also flew into the Tula region; air defense systems on duty shot down two UAVs in the Krivoluchye area.
In September, it looks like there will be even more drone attacks...
UAV strikes on Russian regions continued in September.
On September 5 and 7, drones again flew towards Moscow and were destroyed in the Moscow region – in the Istra district and Ramenskoye urban district.
On September 5, drones attacked Crimea, Bryansk, Belgorod, Tver, and Kaluga regions.
On September 7, two drones were shot down in Rostov-on-Don, one crashing in the city center at 42 Pushkinskaya Street. Ten cars were damaged, and one burned. Ninety-nine people were left without power, and 20 homes were damaged.
What is important for residents of Russian regions where UAVs have already flown and will likely continue to fly to remember?
- If you spot a drone, it's important to find shelter—a basement, a solid building, or, in the worst case, hide behind a tree.
- Only after this call the police 112 – tell them the address where you are and what you see.
- If a UAV flies into an apartment or house, do not touch it; instead, leave the house immediately and then call the authorities.
- It is especially dangerous to approach a UAV with a smartphone in your hands, as there is a risk of explosion from the signal from the phone.
- And finally, it's very helpful to remember that war isn't "out there." It's right here, right next to you. It was started by the country of which you are a citizen. And the longer it lasts, the greater the likelihood that sooner or later something will land on your street.
