Drones attacked Russian GRU military intelligence's special operations (Osnaz) unit No. 33443 in the village of Moskovskoye, Stavropol Krai, Russia, injuring one intelligence officer, the Russian Telegram channel Astra, citing sources, said earlier. One drone reportedly exploded during the attack.
Stavropol Krai Governor Vladimir Vladimirov earlier claimed that on the morning of July 4, two drones "fell" in the village of Moskovskoye. No infrastructure was damaged and "all systems are operating normally," according to him.
"This unit is not merely a radio-technical reconnaissance unit but is part of the Russian Zvezda space reconnaissance system," Defense Express said.
Established in the early 1970s to intercept signals from spacecraft, the system included 11 stations in the USSR and 4 abroad in Cuba, Vietnam, Burma, and Mongolia, Defense Express reported.
"Its general purpose was to monitor space communication systems, analyze their operation, and potentially counteract them," said the article.
Military unit 33443 was one of the first to remain operational after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as half of all similar space reconnaissance points were located in the Union republics, the article said.
Under Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s administration, this military unit was significantly modernized, with the number of antennas and its territory doubling. The equipment has continually expanded, as evidenced by satellite images, said Defense Express.