On the night of Saturday, June 8, explosions were reported in various parts of temporarily occupied Crimea. The Russian occupation authorities in Sevastopol claimed an attack was carried out by a marine drone. Later on, the Russian Ministry of Defence reported a massive drone attack on six other regions of the Russian Federation.
According to the Russian reports, air defence systems destroyed two UAVs over Russia’s Belgorod and Rostov regions, six over the Krasnodar region, and three over the Astrakhan region. Furthermore, one drone was supposedly intercepted over the Bryansk and Tula regions, and four over temporarily occupied Crimea. Russia’s Ministry of Defence also claimed that their forces destroyed two unmanned boats in the Black Sea waters, allegedly heading toward the Crimean peninsula.
Previously, the Telegram channel “Krymsky Veter” (Crimean Wind) reported explosions in Balaklava, Sevastopol, and Kerch. According to their data, the first explosion occurred in Balaklava in the area of the thermal power plant after 01:00. Mikhail Razvozhayev, head of the occupation administration of Sevastopol, claimed that an unmanned boat was destroyed in the area of Striletska Bay, attributing the loud sounds heard there to the fleet’s action.
Additionally, in the early hours of Saturday, June 8, Russian air defence allegedly shot down drones over the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, as reported by the Russian Ministry of Defence and the region’s head, Sergey Minyaylo. According to the Russian ministry, at around 08:40 Moscow time, “an attempt to carry out a terrorist attack using aircraft-type UAVs on targets in the Russian Federation was repelled.” Minyaylo also specified that three drones were intercepted over the Mozdok airfield. “According to preliminary information, the UAVs came from the Ukrainian side. Their target was the military airfield. There are no casualties or damage,” he wrote.
The Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported that its sources in the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) have confirmed that the drone attack on North Ossetia was a special operation conducted by HUR. Describing it as a “successful operation by the HUR Ministry of Defense,” the source added that the activities are ongoing. However, no further details were disclosed.
The Russian airfield in Mozdok hosted Tu-22M3 bombers, serving as a launch platform for brutal X-22 missile attacks on Ukraine. Moreover, between November 2023 and March 2024, Russians used Mozdok as a hub for deploying Russia’s MiG-31K jets equipped with ‘Kinzhal’ missiles, a fact confirmed by satellite imagery in January 2024. The Defense Express publication, referencing satellite photos from OSINT analyst Evergreen Intel as of April 22, reported that at that time, the Mozdok airfield housed six Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, four Su-24M/MR aircraft, and roughly two dozen helicopters of different types.
