Where Russians witnessed explosions this week: Ukrainian UAVs over Mozdok, Su-57 hit in Astrakhan, explosions across Crimea

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

Ukrainian UAVs over Russia's Mozdok, Su-57 downed in Russia's Astrakhan region, and  fire at  refinery in Rostov region

• On June 5, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the alleged destruction of five drones in the Belgorod, Kursk, and Voronezh regions. It noted that Russian air defense destroyed and intercepted two UAVs over the territory of the Belgorod region, two drones over the territory of the Kursk region, and one over the territory of the Voronezh region.
• And on the night of Thursday, June 6, Russia reported an alleged drone attack on an oil refinery in the Rostov region. Instead, the drones of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate hit an oil depot in the Belgorod region. The drones of the Main Intelligence Directorate attacked an oil depot near Stary Oskol in the Belgorod region, Russia. The alleged attack in the Belgorod region was reported by the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov. "The Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked an oil depot in the territory of the Stary Oskol city district using a kamikaze drone. As a result of the explosion, one of the tanks caught fire. Four fire crews quickly extinguished the fire. The blast wave smashed windows in the security building. No one was injured,” he wrote. At the same time, a fire broke out at the Novoshakhtyn Oil Refinery in Rostov Region, and later it was reported that the fire was localized on an area of 100 square meters.
• On the night of Saturday, June 8, the Russians claimed that their air defense had allegedly destroyed two UAVs over the territory of Belgorod and Rostov regions, six over Krasnodar Krai, and three over Astrakhan region. They also allegedly intercepted one drone over the territory of Bryansk and Tula regions. The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, wrote that the village of Prokhorovka in the region was attacked by three airplane-type UAVs. According to him, the first drone fell on a private residential building, causing it and the buildings nearby to be destroyed. The second drone, according to the governor, fell and detonated next to a private residence, smashing windows, shattering the facade, fence and outbuildings. Gladkov added that a third drone allegedly attacked the church, damaging the roof and facade.
• Also on Saturday, June 8, Russian air defense allegedly shot down drones over the territory of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania in Mozdok, where the airfield is located, from which MiG-31K and Tu aircraft take off to fire on Ukraine.  According to Russian defense officials, their air defense system shot down the UAV over the territory of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. The head of the region, Sergei Meniaylo, clarified that Russian air defense allegedly shot down three drones in Mozdok. "According to preliminary information, the UAVs came from the Ukrainian side. Their target was a military airfield. There were no casualties or damage,” he wrote. Mozdok is the location of the Russian military airfield from which Russian MiG-31K and Tu fighters take off and fire on Ukraine.
• Once again, on Saturday, June 8, a Russian Su-57 multi-purpose fighter jet was shot down at the Akhtubinsk airfield in the Astrakhan region, Russia, 589 kilometers from the contact line. "The images show that on June 7, the Su-57 was intact, but on June 8, there were signs of an explosion and fire damage," the report states. Military intelligence noted that the Su-57 is Russia's most advanced fighter, capable of using Kh-59 and Kh-69 missiles. According to the agency, only a few Su-57 units are in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces. Ukraine also highlighted that this is the first time a Su-57 has been hit in history.
• On Sunday, June 9, a Ukrainian military aircraft struck a Russian command post near Belgorod. “The Ukrainian Air Force mission struck a Russian command post in Belgorod,” the source said. It is not yet known what type of munitions were used in the attack and whether they were Western weapons or not. "Although the damage assessment is still ongoing, it has been confirmed that it was a direct hit. This is the first air strike carried out by the Ukrainian Air Force on a target in Russia,” added the Ukrainian military, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

                                                                                                                                            Photo: reuters

Blasts in Crimea: destroyed Russian tugboat Saturn, damage to two radars and explosions in Balaklava, Sevastopol and Kerch

• On the night of May 6, Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate conducted an attack in the Black Sea. As a result, Russia's tugboat Saturn was destroyed. “On June 6, 2024, a special unit of the 9th Department of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine off the coast of the temporarily occupied Crimea successfully struck a Russian raid tugboat of the Project 498 Saturn or Proteus,” the statement said. As a result of the operation in the waters of Lake Panske, another Russian vessel was destroyed. 
• On the night of June 7, Russian air defense forces allegedly destroyed 28 UAVs over three regions, as well as over occupied Crimea and the Sea of Azov. It was reported that Russian air defense destroyed or intercepted 11 UAVs over the Crimean peninsula and 8 drones over the Sea of Azov. The Russian Telegram channel Astra reported that two radar stations in the village of Mysove in the Leninsky district of occupied Crimea were damaged. In addition, one Russian soldier was injured as a result of the strikes.
• Also on the night of Saturday, June 8, explosions were heard in different parts of the temporarily occupied Crimea. The Russian-installed authorities in Sevastopol claim an attack by a marine drone. The Russian agency says that its firepower destroyed two unmanned boats in the Black Sea, which were allegedly heading toward the Crimean peninsula. The day before, Crimean Wind reported on explosions, particularly in Balaklava, Sevastopol, and Kerch. According to them, the first explosion occurred in Balaklava near the thermal power plant after 1:00 am. The head of the Russian-installed administration of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said that a crewless boat was allegedly destroyed in the area of Sevastopol's Streletskaya Bay. “The loud sounds heard in the area of Streletskaya Bay were our fleet destroying a crewless boat on an outer raid,” Razvozhayev said.

                                                                                                     Photo: Crimean Wind / Telegram

Expert opinions

The Alpha Special Operations Center, which is part of the Security Service of Ukraine, hit part of Russia's oil refining facilities, which brought 55% of foreign exchange earnings to the country's budget.

"Over the past two months, many of Russia's oil refining facilities have been damaged, which has resulted in a one-third reduction in oil product exports, which is 55% of the enemy's military revenue. This is foreign currency earnings from the export of oil products,” said one of the heads of the SBU special forces at the first annual US-Ukraine Freedom Summit.

Dmytro Sniehyriov, co-chairman of the Pravova Sprava NGO and military expert, believes that the tactics of the Ukrainian Defense Forces to destroy the Kh-69 missile carrier of the Su-57 fighter jet are already well established.

"This is a serious success for the Ukrainian Defense Forces, the operation was conducted by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, and there is objective control data that indicates that the Su-57 was hit. The official Russian authorities can either deny or refute this information, but nevertheless, the Russian public is being told by the Russian pro-war military bloggers that the Su-57 was shot down. The Russians, as always, lie, calling the Su-57 the fifth generation, but in fact it is a transitional type aircraft designed to destroy all types of air targets, to hit foreign surface targets, and to monitor the airspace over long distances,” Sniehyriov explains.