Drones and closed airspace

A close succession of UAV strikes against oil and gas facilities deep inside Russia could mark a new phase of the war

Multiple drone strikes have occurred across Russia since Monday evening, in what some sources say is one of the more extensive air attacks on the country in the past year. While there is no conclusive evidence of coordination among these incidents, the pattern of military drones crashing near Russia’s oil and natural-gas facilities has already led many to speculate about Ukraine’s involvement. Neither Russia’s Defense Ministry nor the Ukrainian authorities have yet issued any statements about the extensive pattern of attacks, however. Here’s what we know, so far.

Late Monday evening, three attack drones crashed in Belgorod. Mayor Valentin Demidov reported that one of the UAVs went through an apartment window. According to the news outlet Mash, the drones targeted an electric substation. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov says there were no casualties, though there was some property damage.

Early Tuesday morning, a fire broke out at an oil terminal in the town of Tuapse in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. The local media reported that two drones struck the terminal. Residents in the vicinity say they heard two explosions before the fire started.

Another “unidentified flying object” fell in the neighboring Adygea Republic. According to local Governor Marat Kumpilov, the crash occurred in Novy, a village 90 kilometers (55 miles) from Krasnodar and 160 kilometers (just under 100 miles) from Tuapse, but no one was injured.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claims that the drones were launched by the Ukrainian military to attack targets in Krasnodar Krai and Adygea but were disabled by Russia’s radio-electronic suppression systems.

Another drone was shot down in the Bryansk region. Governor Alexander Bogomaz acknowledged the incident on Tuesday morning and attributed the launch to the Ukrainian military. According to Bogomaz, no one was injured, and no significant damage occurred.

The airspace over St. Petersburg was closed on Tuesday from around 10:40 a.m. to 11:50 a.m., Moscow time, due to an “unidentified object” allegedly sighted in the vicinity.

The news outlet Baza reports that the “Cover” (“Kover”) security protocol implemented around the Pulkovo airport is normally a response to unexpected border crossings or the entrance of unidentified objects into the airspace. According to some media reports, fighter jets were scrambled. The local news outlet Fontanka suggests that the Defense Ministry alerted Pulkovo about the presence of an unidentified object within 160–200 kilometers (100–124 miles) of St. Petersburg. Another outlet reported that the object resembled a large attack drone. Several flights that had already left Moscow for St. Petersburg were called back to the runway.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claims, however, that the Western Military District’s air-defense forces launched fighter planes as part of a drill on coordinating air traffic with the civil aviation and intercepting a target.

Another drone crashed near a Gazprom facility outside of Moscow. According to Mash, the UAV wrecked some 100 meters (330 feet) from a natural-gas-compressor station in the Kolomensky district, but no explosion followed, as confirmed by the facility’s staff.

Moscow Governor Andrey Vorobyov assured local residents that there’s no public safety threat.