Russian air defense systems destroyed 1,198 unmanned aerial vehicles between 8:00 p.m. on November 12 and 8:00 a.m. on November 13. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the drones were intercepted over 17 Russian regions, the Moscow region, Crimea, and the waters of the Black Sea.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 467 drones were launched toward the capital region during the same period. Air defense units shot down most of them far from Moscow, while 144 were intercepted as they approached the city.
The most severe consequences were recorded in the Volgograd region, where four people were killed and two others were injured. According to Governor Andrey Bocharov, all of them were employees of Volgograd's Southern Industrial Zone, and the injured have already been hospitalized. Earlier, the governor noted that falling drone debris sparked fires at one of the enterprises in that zone. Additionally, windows were damaged in three five-story buildings and a youth center in the settlement of Svetly Yar.
Drone debris also caused fires in the Rostov region, where windows of a five-story residential building were damaged and three passenger cars burned down in Rostov-on-Don's Oktyabrsky district. Governor Yuri Slyusar stated that the building's residents were evacuated and there were no casualties. In the city's Sovetsky district, an industrial site was damaged and a 20-square-meter fire broke out, with preliminary reports also indicating no casualties. In the region's Aksay district, a 1,500-square-meter warehouse caught fire, where emergency services continue to work and verify information regarding potential casualties.
The geography of the attack and the number of intercepted devices indicate that the strikes were coordinated in nature, spanning 17 regions and the Black Sea basin simultaneously. Notably, both the capital region and industrial centers deep in the rear—specifically Volgograd and Rostov—were targeted.
In this situation, it is noteworthy that even amid active air defense operations, the primary damage and human losses are caused by falling debris from downed drones. Final figures regarding potential casualties at the warehouse in the Aksay district are still being clarified, meaning the full picture of the aftermath could change.
