Russia alleges its air defenses downed drone in Kaluga Oblast
The Russians say they shot down a drone in the Kaluga Oblast (Photo:Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation)
The wave of mysterious drone attacks continued in Russia in the early hours of Aug. 12, with an unidentified drone being shot down in Kaluga Oblast.
The region’s governor Vladislav Shapsha wrote on Telegram that Russian air defenses were activated in Kaluga Oblast’s Dzerzhinsky District, about 150 kilometers to the southwest of the Russian capital Moscow.
No damage or casualties in the attack were reported by Shapsha.
Earlier, the governor of Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Roman Starovoit, announced on Telegram that on Aug. 10, at about 11 p.m., air defense forces allegedly shot down two Ukrainian UAVs that were approaching the city of Kursk.
Meanwhile, in Moscow on Aug. 11, as the whole of Ukraine was under an air alert due to a Russian missile attack, there were reports of explosions in the west of the Russian capital, and videos appeared showing smoke drifting over the city from the alleged shoot-down of a drone.
Video also appeared of a distinctive-looking drone with small “canard” front wings and a rear propeller – a type that has been spotted over Moscow several times and which resembles a known type of drone manufactured in Ukraine.
Moscow’s Vnukovo airport was closed for some time due to the reports of the drone activity, with several flights being delayed or diverted.
In an earlier drone-related incident on Aug. 10, flight restrictions were imposed at two of Moscow’s main airports, Vnukovo and Domodedovo, with dozens of flights being delayed, while explosions were reported near the village of Domodedovo.
Telegram channels said that airports were enacting the “Kover” security plan, a protocol activated in response to unidentified aircraft or other airborne objects perceived as potential threats.
The incident in Kaluga Oblast on Aug. 12 is the latest in a wave of mysterious drone incidents occurring across Russia for the past few months. There have been at least four notable incidents in the past two weeks.
On Aug. 9, Russia claimed there were "attempts" to attack Moscow by UAVs, with one drone allegedly shot down in the Domodedovo area, and residents reported explosions.
On Aug. 6, Russian authorities claimed that a drone "tried to break through" to Moscow, and dozens of flights were delayed at Vnukovo airport.
On July 30, Moscow was attacked by unidentified drones. In particular, the building of the IQ-quarter in Moscow City business district, where the offices of several Russian ministries are located, was destroyed.
In an apparent follow-up attack in the early hours of Aug. 1, Moscow Mayor Sobyanin said that another drone had hit the same skyscraper that had been attacked two days earlier.
Ukraine typically denies using drones to attack Russia, but drones of known Ukrainian types have been spotted in the skies of Russia, and wreckage of crashed drones of known Ukrainian manufacture has been discovered on the ground on numerous occasions.
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