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On the night of 13 March, drones attacked six regions of Russia at once, causing serious incidents at industrial facilities. The Russian Ministry of Defence said that its air defence systems intercepted 77 drones: 30 over the Bryansk region, 25 over the Kaluga region, six over the Kursk and Voronezh regions, and five over the Rostov and Belgorod regions. Despite these statements, the attack led to large-scale fires in three regions, as reported by DW.
Fire at an enterprise in the Kaluga region
One of the largest incidents occurred in the Kaluga region. According to the governor, Vladislav Shapsha, an industrial enterprise in the Dzerzhinsky district caught fire after a drone attack. According to preliminary information, a night shift worker was lightly injured.
Local residents report that the Kaluga aerated concrete plant was hit. In Khvastovichi district, a communication tower and a power line were also damaged as a result of the UAV crash.
“Landscape fire” in the Rostov region
Another fire hit an industrial facility in the Sholokhov district of Rostov Region. Commenting on the incident, acting Governor Yuri Slyusar described the fire as a “landscape fire”, without specifying details about the facility itself. According to official reports, there were no casualties or injuries.
Attack on an infrastructure facility in Voronezh
The governor of the Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, said that as a result of the drone attack, one of the drones crashed into an “infrastructure facility”, causing a fire. He did not specify what kind of facility it was. Later, Gusev said that the fire was extinguished, there were no casualties, but the risk of new attacks in the region remained.
The significance of the attacks: pressure on Russian industry?
This massive drone attack is one of the largest in recent times, and its consequences demonstrate that Russia’s air defence system cannot always cope with such threats. Strikes on industrial facilities could have a serious impact on Russian production processes and defence logistics.
So far, official Russian sources have avoided disclosing details about the affected companies. However, such attacks are becoming more frequent, which may indicate a change in tactics and growing internal pressure on the Russian economy and military infrastructure.
