ISW summarizes results of massive drone attack on Russia
Photo: Ukraine launches the largest attack with UAVs against Russia (armyinform.com.ua)
On the night of August 31 to September 1, Ukrainian forces carried out their largest series of drone strikes targeting locations across Russia. Drones attacked 16 regions of Russia, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
In a report citing data from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian air defense systems reportedly destroyed 158 Ukrainian drones: 46 over the Kursk region, 34 over Bryansk, 28 over Voronezh, 14 over Belgorod, nine over Moscow and its region, eight over Ryazan, five over Kaluga, four over Lipetsk, three over Tula, and two each over Tambov and Smolensk regions, with one each over Oryol, Tver, and Ivanovo regions.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated that Russian forces shot down two Ukrainian drones near the Moscow Refinery in Kapotnya, and debris from the drones damaged a technical facility at the plant, causing a fire.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reminded that Russian sources released footage of a Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow Refinery and a minor fire in the area, though some described the fire as a typical gas flare at the site.
"Kashira Raion Head Mikhail Shuvalov stated that Ukrainian forces targeted the Kashira State District Power Plant in Kashira Raion, Moscow Oblast with three drones, and Russian sources amplified footage of Russian air defense activating and explosions near the plant," the report states.
Meanwhile, the Tver region press service reported that a Ukrainian drone caused a fire in the Konakovo district, and Russian sources released footage of the drone strike on the Konakovo State District Power Plant, a subsequent large fire at the power station, and damage inside the facility.
Russian opposition media ASTRA reported that after Ukrainian drone strikes, a fire also occurred at the Konakovo gas distribution network along the main gas pipeline KGMO-Konakov in the Tver region.
Vladislav Shapsha, the governor of the Kaluga region, stated that a Ukrainian drone damaged a cellular communication tower in the Tarusa district of the Kaluga region.
Russian opposition publication Vazhnye Istorii noted that data from NASA FIRMS indicated thermal anomalies at the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant (NLMK) in the Lipetsk region, a military facility for a unit of the 106th Airborne (VDV) Division in the Tula region, two cement plants in Voskresensk and Kolomna in the Moscow region, and a cement plant in Ferzikovo cement plant in the Kaluga region, during the night of August 31 to September 1.
"Only the FIRMS data from the site in Tula Oblast appears to be anomalous, as the other facilities routinely give off heat signatures due to normal industrial activities," the ISW report stated.
Drone attacks on Russia
Around 2:00 AM on the night of August 31 to September 1, Russian media reported a drone attack on Moscow.
Later reports indicated an attack by nine UAVs on the Russian capital. One of the drones struck the oil refinery in Kapotnya, causing a fire at the facility.
Drones also damaged the Konakovo and Kashira power plants.
