In the early hours of Saturday, July 5, several Russian cities were hit by a series of drone attacks that caused fires, damage to infrastructure, and major flight delays.
At around 2:30 a.m. local time, residents reported a drone strike on Borisoglebsk in the Voronezh region. The town has been targeted before: media reports say previous attacks hit the local aviation training center, with regional authorities allegedly concealing casualties among military personnel.
Around 4:00 a.m., a fire broke out in Cheboksary following a drone strike. Residents also reported mobile internet disruptions. Later, it emerged that the fire was in the area of the Vutherm plant on Lapsarsky Drive, which manufactures hot-water boilers. The exact extent of the damage remains unclear, and local officials have not commented.
At approximately 4:35 a.m., residents of Engels in Saratov region reported an attack on a military airfield. The regional governor later confirmed damage to residential buildings in both Engels and Saratov but said there were no preliminary reports of casualties.
In Saint Petersburg, drone attacks in Leningrad region forced Pulkovo Airport to temporarily halt flight operations starting at 11:15 p.m. on Friday (with brief periods of reopening). By morning, over 50 flights were delayed.
Around 6:00 a.m., NASA’s fire monitoring systems detected a blaze near the Borisoglebsk military airfield in Voronezh region following the overnight strike.
In Cheboksary, police blocked access to the grounds of the “VNIIIR-Progress” plant, which manufactures Kometa antenna systems for the Russian military to protect drones from Ukrainian electronic warfare. The facility had already suspended operations after a previous attack on June 9. Police also sealed off the nearby “MVT Center” shopping mall, which is located next to the plant. The reasons for these restrictions have not been disclosed.