Main image: A Ukrainian soldier carries a drone close to the front line near Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on February 17, 2023. Libkos / AP
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have carried out the longest and most massive drone attack on Russian regions since Russian President Vladimir Putin abandoned the ceasefire. Beginning on the evening of May 20, the Ukrainian drone assault continued almost nonstop until the morning of May 23. According to official reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense, during this period, air defense units shot down a total of 756 fixed-wing drones. Specifically, from 8 PM Moscow time on May 20 until 8 AM on May 22, 485 drones were destroyed; from 8 AM to 8 PM on May 22, 159 drones were shot down; and from 8 PM on May 22 until 7 AM on May 23, another 112 drones were intercepted.
The strikes affected 15 regions of Russia and the occupied Crimea. The most drones were shot down over the Oryol region (197), Kursk region (185), and Moscow region (109). During the attacks, airports in Vladimir, Kaluga, Kostroma, Tambov, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, as well as Moscow’s Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky temporarily suspended flight arrivals and departures. Hundreds of flights were delayed, and many passengers had to wait nearly a full day for their departures. Additionally, mobile internet access was restricted in six regions: Tula, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Vladimir, Oryol, and Ivanovo. Local authorities asked residents to “understand” the inconvenience.
During the massive drone raid, Ukrainian drones struck at least two important military-industrial enterprises: the Bolkhov Semiconductor Device Plant (JSC “BZPP”) in the Oryol region, which produces microelectronics for the military, and the “Energia” plant in the Lipetsk region, which specializes in manufacturing batteries for drones, missiles, and aviation. Ukrainian drones also damaged several multi-story residential buildings — one in Tula and one in Yelets. Ten people received minor injuries.
Furthermore, in the Kursk region, one drone hit a highway bridge, damaging the road surface, while another attacked the car of Nikolai Volobuev, head of the Belovsky district, resulting in his hospitalization with injuries to his thigh and arm.
