According to local reports, chaos broke out in Russia overnight as drones flooded multiple areas, causing explosions at an oil depot and the deployment of fighter jets near St. Petersburg.
An attack at around 2 a.m. in the Krasnodar region less than 100 feet from the Russian Defense Ministry barracks, independent newspaper agent news report. Two drones filled with explosives landed at a nearby Rosneft oil depot in Tuapse, sparking a fire that was “quickly extinguished,” according to the Russian outlet market.
Hours later, St.’s Pulkovo Airport. Petersburg came to a halt as authorities closed the surrounding airspace, allegedly in response to an “unidentified flying object” discovered in the area.
Local authorities confirmed to RIA Novosti that incoming and outgoing flights were temporarily halted, although they did not give a reason for the move. Meanwhile, Baza reported, fighter jets were deployed to take down the “subject”.
However, a short time later, the Russian Ministry of Defense declare the whole incident was simply a training exercise, and the airspace was reopened.
Drones were also reported overnight in the regions of Bryansk and Belgorod, as well as the Republic of Adygea. Another drone landed in the Moscow region, near the Gazprom gas compression station on Tuesday. Local reports note that the drone could have reached the Kremlin in less than an hour if it hadn’t crashed.
“The FSB and other competent authorities are dealing with the situation, there is no threat to the safety of the people,” Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said in a statement.
The strikes are part of what local media describe as a “mass drone strike” that appears to have intensified over the past 24 hours.
On Monday morning, residents of an apartment building in the Belgorod region, near the border with Ukraine, were forced to evacuate at midnight after one of four drones crashed into the building, according to Baza. Another drone landed on the roof of the supermarket and exploded, burning down the facility.
“People have been moved to a safe place. Everyone has the opportunity to stay in the hotel while the special services do their job,” Belgorod Mayor Valentin Demidov announced on Telegram.
Although no injuries were reported, pro-war bloggers by the Russian military were outraged by the series of drone attacks.
“The enemy carried out a daring attack today, by drones in Belgorod, Tuapse, Adygea, and now in St. Petersburg, and because of this, the airspace in the city and region is closed,” a Telegram post shared by Wagner-Gray Zone Connected.
Another popular pro-Kremlin channel said the drone strike should be seen as “preparation for a spring offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, when the aim of the attacks to destabilize the domestic front and sow great panic among the Russians.”
