Explosions in Moscow, fires in Dagestan and Yekaterinburg: weekly overview 

Read more about explosions in Russia and the temporarily occupied territories in the weekly Espreso review.

Explosions are happening again in Moscow

In the Russian capital, drones are flying once more, and the air defense system is active. Meanwhile, there's another fire in a storage place near Moscow, and helicopters are working to put it out. However, the explosions this week seem to be a bit less frequent than before.

• During the night of August 17-18, people in Moscow heard explosions around the Moscow-City area. Mayor Sobyanin stated that debris fell near the Expo Center, but there is not any major damage or injuries. At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have used air defense to shoot down a UAV.

• On the night of August 20, air defense was again operating in Moscow. It is said they might have taken down a drone from Ukraine. This led to flight delays at Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports around 3 o'clock in the morning. Some flights were redirected to Sheremetyevo. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated, "The UAV was taken down using radio-electronic measures and crashed in an uninhabited area after losing control. No injuries or damage occurred."

• A bit later on Sunday morning, August 20, a 6-story Ozon warehouse caught fire in Podolsk near Moscow. The fire began in a 375-square-meter area of the warehouse. Russian reports label it as a third-degree fire. Workers were evacuated, and emergency services are present. They're working to extinguish the fire using helicopters.

Explosions have been happening in different parts of Russia

This week has been full of unrest in various cities and regions of Russia, where explosions occurred and it is said that the Russian air defense was active.

• For instance, on Wednesday, August 16, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that they believed Ukraine used three drones to attack locations in the Kaluga region of Russia. They mentioned that their air defense system managed to find and destroy these drones quickly. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, no injuries or deaths were reported.

• Also, on August 19, an unidentified drone reportedly struck the Soltsy military airfield in Russia's Novgorod region. The Russian Ministry of Defense, in line with their usual stance, accused Ukraine of this incident. They noted that a fire erupted in the aircraft parking area due to the attack, but firefighters managed to put it out promptly.

• On the morning of Sunday, August 20, there was news of a drone attack in Rostov and at the railway station in Kursk. Roman Starovoyt, the governor of the Kursk region, reported that a Ukrainian drone hit the roof of the railway station building in Kursk. This caused a fire to break out on the roof. He mentioned that five individuals received minor injuries from glass fragments. The attack damaged the roof, facade, and first platform. The waiting room and pedestrian tunnel were also affected by the blast. Meanwhile, Vasily Golubev, the governor of the Rostov region, stated that they managed to bring down three drones using electronic warfare methods, and they apparently did not need to use air defense.

• A bit later on August 20, the Belgorod region claimed that they had taken down 12 aerial targets. The governor of the region, Gladkov, asserted that their air defense system was active over the city and the region. They supposedly "destroyed" these targets before they reached the central area.

There was a fire in Yekaterinburg and explosions in Dagestan

In Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Thursday, August 17, a big building site for an ice arena caught fire. About 200 people were taken to safety by rescue teams. The fire was on the roof of the ice arena where paint and foam materials were burning. Nobody has been reported hurt. The firefighters are checking the building to find out what caused the fire, according to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.

However, a much stronger fire started due to an explosion in Dagestan. In Makhachkala, which is the main city of Dagestan, one of the regions of Russia, there was an explosion at a gas station. Over 80 people were hurt and at least 35 people were killed. Near Makhachkala, a car service place caught fire, and then the fire spread to a nearby gas station. According to a source from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, a Telegram channel called Shot said that the explosion's force was so strong that it covered people with fuel.

Events around the Black Sea and the areas under occupation

During this week, there was not a lot of disturbance around the Black Sea and the places that are temporarily controlled by the Russians. However, it was not completely quiet either.

Specifically, Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to attack their Black Sea Fleet on Thursday evening, August 17. They claimed, "Ukraine's Armed Forces attempted an unsuccessful attack using a naval drone on our Black Sea Fleet ships, which are carrying out navigation control tasks in the southwest part of the Black Sea, 237 km southwest of Sevastopol." They say they managed to destroy the Ukrainian drone, and their own ships are continuing their duties.

Then, on Friday, August 18, there were explosions in the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region. The city's mayor mentioned that the railway track might be damaged. Additionally, it is noted that on the evening of August 17, there was some noise in the temporarily controlled areas of Tokmak and Kyrylivka.

Expert opinions

Valery Ryabykh from Defense Express shared on Espreso that using ships and airplanes to attack could be a way to stop the Russian fleet.

"It's possible that we could fully stop them. The situation is changing. The attacks from unknown planes and ships are going farther and farther from where the fighting is happening. The defense forces aren't admitting to anything, but they are acting in a strange way to disrupt the enemy's supply lines - like their fuel and other resources," he explained.

At the same time, British intelligence has noticed that there is increasing pressure on the leaders of Russia's air and space forces, especially on the head officer, Colonel-General Viktor Afzalov. This is because the defense situation in western Russia, where drones often attack, is getting worse. The fact that drones are frequently flying over Moscow is catching attention in Britain.

"Strikes deep inside Russia are strategically important because President Putin almost certainly invaded Ukraine on the assumption that it would have little direct effect on Russians," the intelligence report stated.