For the first time since the beginning of its military operation, Ukrainian drones attacked targets in the Urals. Explosions were heard in the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions. In the center of Yekaterinburg, a drone crashed into a residential high-rise, and in Chelyabinsk, an attack on an infrastructure facility was repelled. According to experts, the distance of 1.8 thousand km can be overcome by upgraded drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but sabotage from a closer distance cannot be ruled out. What should be done to prevent these attacks?
Early on Saturday morning, Ukrainian drones attacked the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions of Russia for the first time since the beginning of a special military operation. One of the goals was a 32-storey residential building (Trinity residential complex) in the Leninsky district of Yekaterinburg. The damage was recorded at the level of 25-30 floors: windows were broken in several apartments, the facade was damaged and there was local smoke.
As a result of the impact, nine people were injured, one woman was hospitalized, and about 50 people were evacuated.
The governor of the Sverdlovsk Region, Denis Pasler, reminded citizens of the ban on picking up wreckage of drones or trying to move them, as well as videotaping the operation of air defense systems and UAVs.
The governor of the Chelyabinsk Region, Alexei Texler, announced that an attack on an unnamed infrastructure facility had been repelled. According to official data, the enemy drone was destroyed by the air defense forces, there were no casualties or damage. In local publications, people talked about several explosions in the southwest of Chelyabinsk, where car alarms were triggered. The Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant (CHMK) is located in that part of the city. Residents reported a column of smoke in the area of the enterprise. CHMK is called a key supplier of metal for defense needs.
On Saturday, a "Carpet" regime was introduced in Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and a number of neighboring regions, which led to flight delays at Koltsovo and Balandino airports. In Yekaterinburg, temporary restrictions on mobile communications were reported, which often accompanies the operation of powerful electronic warfare (EW) systems that suppress drone control channels.
The presidential envoy to the Ural Federal District, Artyom Zhoga, said that the regions of the Urals are now in range of drone attacks. He noted that the enemy is unable to achieve success on the battlefield, therefore, it strikes civilian targets, emphasizing the need for vigilance for residents of the region.
According to the Ministry of Defense, on Saturday night and in the morning, a total of 127 drones were intercepted and destroyed over 14 regions of the country, including the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions.
According to experts, upgraded Ukrainian drones could have reached the Urals, for which their warhead was reduced and other characteristics were changed.
"The main objective of the attack on the Urals is to have a psychological effect. In Yekaterinburg, a blow was deliberately inflicted on a 32-storey apartment building in order to cause a public outcry and so on. This is a terrorist tactic, the Kiev regime uses it all the time," says military expert Yuri Knutov, a historian of the air defense forces.
According to him,
during which the engine is temporarily shut down and the UAV just glides. "This is how fuel economy is achieved," the expert said.
The range is also increased by reducing the warhead. This may be indicated by the fact that there was no serious structural damage when entering an apartment building in Yekaterinburg. "Perhaps the combat load did not exceed several kilograms," Knutov suggested.
"I believe that the Ukrainian drones were flying on a flight mission. The main task of the UAV is not to stray from the route and reach the coordinates. Therefore, more advanced navigation systems may have been used. There is nothing technically difficult in this," says military commander Fyodor Gromov.
Today, modern radar and anti-aircraft systems are used to protect strategic industrial hubs in the Urals, in particular, the Podlet-K1 radar. These stations are specifically designed to detect low-flying, small-sized and low-speed targets, such as Ukrainian kamikaze UAVs of the "Fierce" type. They were put into service with the 14th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense, covering the Urals, to create a radar shield.
Over the past two years, automated short-range air defense systems capable of detecting drones by sound and destroying them with missiles or shotguns have been tested in Chelyabinsk.
However, Russia's vast territory complicates the task of creating an insurmountable jamming belt using electronic warfare. "I'm not sure if electronic warfare systems were installed all over Yekaterinburg. Until the last moment, Ukrainian troops tried to strike primarily at southern Russia and Moscow, which they managed to reach in 2023. The main air defense systems cover the center of the country, if the enemy could bypass them, then there are probably no defensive systems in the second and third echelons of the same density," the military commander suggested.
Gromov also noted that, according to preliminary data, it was the Fierce (official designation An-196), which is manufactured by the Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing company Antonov, that crashed into a skyscraper in Yekaterinburg.
It is equipped with a German Hirth F-23 gasoline engine. Today, it is the flagship long-range drone, which has been used for attacks on Russian territory since 2024. Its latest modifications are supposedly capable of traveling up to 2,000 kilometers.
Or it could be that they were aiming somewhere else, but they did not calculate the presence of a high-rise building or the drone went off course. It's already hard to calculate such moments at such a distance," the expert says.
The fact that Ukrainian drones were able to cross the border unnoticed and fly to the Urals, having covered 1,700-1,800 km, poses new challenges for air defense in the regions.
"In Soviet times, these borders covered the entire territory of the country. In addition to the echelon air defense, there was an air defense facility. That is, a specific object was covered by anti-aircraft missile divisions and fighter aircraft. But this system was purposefully destroyed after the collapse of the USSR," Knutov recalled.
The echeloned air defense system has now been restored to protect Moscow and the Central Economic District (CER). "Everything that concerns the rest of the territory, these tasks must be solved here. Today, high-resolution photographs of any air defense systems are being taken from satellites. This allows you to determine its type and combat characteristics. Knowing this, it is possible to create a radar visibility zone and plot a route to fly unnoticed," the speaker noted.
For a comprehensive solution to the problem, it is necessary to build a boundary from the Barents to the Black Sea. And in order to increase the defense density of individual facilities, in addition to reservists, employees of private security companies could be involved (now this practice has spread in Ukraine).
"The creation of new air defense lines is an expensive and time–consuming project, but it must be implemented. In Soviet times, we created frontiers with a length of 1,500 km or more. They justify themselves in the future. It is also necessary to develop laser and electromagnetic weapons, which we cannot do without due to the fact that they are much cheaper and more effective than anti–aircraft missiles," the expert emphasizes.
At the same time, Knutov does not exclude the possibility that drones were launched not from the territory of Ukraine, but by sabotage groups from a closer distance to attack targets in the Urals.
He recalled that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have an Areion drone missile. This complex was presented in mid-April as a development of the Palyanitsa project. The rocket is delivered in a special transport and launch container. It is compatible with launchers of the Neptun anti-ship missile system, but it can also be launched from conventional car trailers or semi-trailers.
"By removing the tarp from the truck, you can launch a couple of such drones. I do not rule out this option. But for this, it is necessary for a truck with drones to pass through the territory of Russia... It's not that simple, but we remember the operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces "Spider Web", when the enemy managed to find a way to deliver a large number of drones and launchers to the territory of Russia," the source recalled.
It is also possible that the drones could have been manufactured in Russia, because "today, under the guise of volunteers, it is possible to purchase the necessary spare parts for assembling military drones."
Gromov agrees that there is a possibility of launching drones not from the territory of Ukraine. "It is much more difficult to carry out a sabotage, but I would not rule it out. Where a particular drone came from can only be determined after examining the wreckage of the drones. But, most likely, it will be classified information. If this UAV turns out to be factory-made, then it was launched from the territory of Ukraine. If it becomes clear that it was assembled from spare parts, then it can be done on the territory of Russia, you don't need to be a high–class engineer for this," the military commander explained.
Knutov emphasizes that Ukraine, with the help of Germany and France, is developing a ballistic missile made of composite materials based on S-300 complex technologies. "This missile will have a range of about 700 kilometers and a warhead of up to 850 kg. It is planned that she will be able to fly to Moscow and St. Petersburg. We need to prepare to repel all these attacks," the speaker concludes.
Andrey Rezchikov
