Russia reported that hundreds of drones were shot down in 20 regions
On the night of October 7–8, powerful explosions were heard in dozens of regions across Russia and in occupied Crimea. The Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a new large-scale attack on the territory of the aggressor country.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the airstrike began at 8:00 p.m. on October 7, Moscow time.
Russian air defenses, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, attempted to counter the Ukrainian strike drones for 12 hours—until 8:00 a.m. on October 8.
However, the Russian ministry did not specify the exact number of drones that the Ukrainian Armed Forces deployed during the attack. At the same time, the published report suggests that the number was at least 400 UAVs.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Russian air defense forces destroyed and neutralized 399 Ukrainian aircraft-type drones.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian drones attempted to fly over the following territories:
- Belgorod Oblast;
- Bryansk Oblast;
- Volgograd Oblast;
- Voronezh Oblast;
- Kursk Oblast;
- Lipetsk Oblast;
- Oryol Oblast;
- Orenburg Oblast;
- Penza Oblast;
- Rostov Oblast;
- Ryazan Oblast;
- Samara Oblast;
- Saratov Oblast;
- Smolensk Oblast;
- Tambov Oblast;
- Tula Oblast;
- Ulyanovsk Oblast;
- Moscow Region;
- the Republic of Bashkortostan;
- the Republic of Tatarstan;
- Occupied Crimea;
- the Black Sea waters.
Thus, the geographical scope of the attack claimed by the Russian side covered a significant portion of the territory of the Russian Federation.
One of the key targets struck by the Ukrainian Defense Forces was the “Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat” facility in Bashkortostan.
This is one of Russia’s largest oil refining and petrochemical complexes. According to eyewitnesses, a massive fire raged at the facility following the attack.
It is also noted that Ukrainian drones traveled approximately 1,400 km on this occasion.
Another target of the attack was the Ryazan region, where, according to available information, the “Sasta” machine-tool factory was struck.
According to analysts, the facility is of significant importance to Russia’s military-industrial complex.
In addition, a Yandex data center is located near the plant. It is a large facility with a stated power capacity of up to 12 MW and infrastructure designed to house tens of thousands of servers.
Thus, the nighttime attack on October 8 affected dozens of Russian regions, occupied Crimea, and the Black Sea, and, according to available reports, major industrial and infrastructure facilities were among those targeted.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the attack.
In Bashkortostan, the “Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat” facility—one of Russia’s largest oil refining and petrochemical complexes—was attacked. According to OSINT sources, a fire broke out in the area around the facility.
In Russia’s Voronezh Region on October 7, several settlements were left without power following a drone attack.
As a reminder, crews from the 429th Separate “ACHILLES” Unmanned Systems Brigade and the 9th Unmanned Systems Forces Brigade jointly struck a Russian UAV workshop in occupied Novoyegorivka in the Kharkiv region. According to the Ukrainian military, “Anubis” drones were used in the strike. A logistics depot belonging to the Russian Federation’s 27th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade was also hit.
