Russia’s Defense Ministry keeps silent about drone strike on Pskov, while claiming that UAVs have been repelled across Central Russia
On the night of August 30, there was an attempted mass drone attack on Russia’s Central Federal District, Moscow’s mayor Sergey Sobyanin reports. According to the mayor, one of the drones heading toward the capital was destroyed by air defense systems in the Ruzsky District of the Moscow region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported intercepting fixed-wing drones several times throughout the night, describing the strike as a “terrorist attack” by the “Kyiv regime.”
According to the agency’s information, three UAVs in the Bryansk region, two in the Ryazan region, and one in each of the Oryol, Kaluga, and Moscow regions, were shot down by air defense systems after midnight.
Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz reported that three Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, and another three in the morning. Bogomaz said there were no casualties, but that one of the attacks in the morning caused a fire and partially destroyed an administrative building. The governor added that an attack on a local TV tower was repelled.
The Telegram channel Mash wrote that drones tried to attack the Druzhba oil terminal. One of the downed UAVs fell on the Kremniy EL industrial plant, one of Russia’s largest microchip producers. The independent outlet iStories notes that Kremniy EL primarily makes military products, including parts for Pantsir and Iskander missile systems.
According to the Bryansk city administration, there was a “bang” at a Russian Investigative Committee building on Wednesday morning. The press service reported that “there was no open fire, but a window was broken.”
City authorities in Bryansk warned residents and the local media about publicizing the targets’ addresses: “This information is used by the enemy for planning further terrorist attacks! Use the information and wording published by official sources! The safety of the residents of Bryansk depends on it!” read the message posted on Telegram.
The governor of Oryol Andrey Klychkov reported that two UAVs were shot down in the region. In the Kaluga region, Governor Vladislav Shapsha also said that two drones crashed in the region’s Sukhinichy and Dzerzhinsky districts. One of them crashed in an empty reservoir used for storing oil products, sparking a fire.
Pskov airport also came under mass drone attack. According to various reports, 10–20 drones were used in the strike. TASS reports that four Il-76 strategic air-lifters were damaged. The Telegram channel Baza writes that two other planes were completely destroyed. Russia’s Defense Ministry so far said nothing about the attack on Pskov.
Pskov governor Mikhail Vedernikov published footage of the intercepted attack on Pskov Airport. He said that all flights to and from the airport on August 30 were cancelled while emergency services examine the damaged airstrip. Vedernikov said no one was injured in the explosion and the resulting fire at the airport.
The governor of annexed Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev also reported that a drone attack had been repelled in the area of Sevastopol Bay. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that, around midnight, a naval aircraft that was part of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed four high-speed military boats in the waters of the Black Sea. The agency said that the boats were carrying landing groups of up to 50 soldiers of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces.
