Biggest drone attack on Russia, Crimea reported

Elsa Court, The Kyiv Independent news desk
·2 min read
25

Russian media reported what appears to be the biggest drone attack on Russian territory and Russian-occupied Crimea overnight on Aug. 30.

Ukraine has not confirmed that it is behind the attacks.

A drone strike was reported in Pskov Oblast, with reports of explosions at Pskov International Airport. Pskov is over 800 kilometers north of Kyiv, near the border with Estonia.

Russian state news agency TASS reported that the strike had damaged four Il-76 aircraft at a military airfield.

Russian media outlet Meduza said that the 334th military transport regiment, armed with Il-76 aircraft, is deployed at Pskov airport.

Pskov Oblast Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said he was on the scene himself, and uploaded a video to his Telegram channel showing smoke and flames rising from the site. He announced that the airport will be closed for the rest of the day.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin claimed that Russian air defenses shot down a drone headed to the city over the Ruza district of Moscow Oblast, west of the capital. No casualties have been reported.

According to Russian media, Moscow's Vnukovo airport shut down the night of Aug. 30, while flights at Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports were delayed, after the airspace over Moscow and Tula oblasts was closed.

The Russian Defense Ministry also claimed that drones were shot down over Bryansk, Oryol, Kaluga, and Ryazan oblasts.

TASS claimed that air defense units shot down three drones over Bryansk and one over Oryol.

A drone or its debris allegedly hit the Kremniy EL microelectronics factory in Bryansk, causing damage.

The Bryansk city administration said that an explosion took place at the headquarters of Russia's Investigative Committee in the city.

Multiple videos of massive explosions in Bryansk were posted on social networks.

In Kaluga Oblast, a drone hit an empty oil product storage facility, Kaluga Oblast Governor Vladislav Shapsha said.

In Russian-occupied Crimea, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol alleged that there had been an unsuccessful attack on Sevastopol with sea drones.

The Russian Defense Ministry also claimed to have destroyed four Ukrainian high-speed military boats in the Black Sea, which would have been used to land special operations forces.

Read also: Budanov: Only ’60-70%′ of deployed Ukrainian maritime kamikaze drones destroyed by Russia

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