Ukrainian drones attack Russia’s Perm
Perm declared a drone threat alert on the morning of August 21, as sirens sounded and residents reported explosions. The city’s airport suspended all flights.
Perm Krai authorities had provided no information about the aftermath of the attack by the time of publication. Astra, an independent Telegram channel, reported smoke rising over the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery — one of Russia’s largest, and a repeated target of Ukrainian drone strikes.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that its air defenses had shot down 325 drones over Russian regions overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said seven of them had been flying toward the capital.
Perm sits about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian drones have struck the city’s oil refinery several times since the spring of 2026 and hit a Wildberries warehouse there in June.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.