[61308] Large-scale drone attack: Russia reports the interception of 138 unmanned aerial vehicles

Large-scale wave of aerial attacks in Russia

The Russian Defense Ministry reported this morning, May 16, 2026, that 138 unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) were intercepted overnight over the territories of the Russian Federation. According to the report by RT, a media outlet affiliated with the Russian government, the interceptions took place over a wide range of regions, including Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, Rostov, Moscow, and even over the Crimean Peninsula.

The news agency 'Ukraina.ru' (Ukr.ru), which maintains a distinctly pro-Russian line, elaborated and noted that the drones were also destroyed over the Tula, Kaluga, Lipetsk, Ryazan, Smolensk, and Tver regions, as well as over the coasts of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. In Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin confirmed that three drones were shot down by air defense forces in the region, with no immediate reports of casualties or destruction of critical infrastructure.

On the ground, the Telegram channel Lpr 1 reported a state of "drone danger" in several locations throughout the night, including Crimea, Sevastopol, the Voronezh region, and Krasnodar. Local residents also reported attempted attacks against a chemical plant in the Stavropol region, according to reports by ASTRA – an independent news channel that maintains a critical line toward the authorities.

In the Kaluga region, officials reported on the 'Kaluga Zhest' channel that air defense forces destroyed 10 drones over various municipal districts and near the cities of Kaluga and Obninsk, emphasizing that "according to preliminary information, there are no casualties or destruction to infrastructure." Conversely, on the Ukrainian Odessa Monitoring channel, a call was issued to residents of the southern Odessa region to seek shelter, in what appears to be a counter-response or part of the high security tensions in the area.