Ukrainian drones have successfully targeted the Russian military air base at Orenburg-2, more than 1,000 kilometres from Ukraine’s border. This marks the first known attack on the site and is part of a sweeping Ukrainian drone offensive that struck multiple high-value military locations across the Russian Federation overnight.
Footage of the strike, shared widely on local social media, was later acknowledged by regional authorities. Yevgeny Sontsov, governor of Orenburg region, claimed Russian air defences intercepted the drones, though images of wreckage near the Orenburg-2 air base emerged shortly after.
The Orenburg-2 base is home to the 117th Military Transport Aviation Regiment and the 7th Separate Engineer Airfield Battalion. It plays a critical role in maintaining aircraft and airfield operations for the Russian Armed Forces.
The full scope of the drone operation, launched on the night of 8 April and lasting approximately ten hours until 6 a.m. Moscow time, included an estimated 160 Ukrainian drones targeting regions across the Russian mainland. The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed the wave of attacks.
| Location | Details |
|---|---|
| Orenburg-2 Air Base | First ever drone strike at over 1,000km from Ukraine |
| Mozdok (North Ossetia) | Drone activity reported, no casualties or damage claimed |
| Engels (Saratov Region) | Explosions heard near strategic bomber base (Tu-95MS and Tu-160) |
| Serdobsky District (Penza) | Drone strike hit missile and artillery weapons storage site |
| Krasnodar Krai | 67 drones intercepted |
| Rostov Region | 29 drones intercepted |
| North Ossetia | 15 drones intercepted |
| Additional Targets | Voronezh, Kursk, Belgorod, Penza, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Orenburg, Oryol, Stavropol, Crimea |
The wide reach of the attack showcases Ukraine’s deep-strike drone capability. Notably, the airbase in Shaykovka, previously attacked on 31 March, also sustained confirmed damage to critical infrastructure supporting Russian Tu-22M3 bombers. Satellite images revealed that Ukrainian strike drones had destroyed a missile storage depot containing Kh-22 and Kh-32 missiles along with a repair facility.
Such missiles are used to launch attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure, including civilian targets. The cost of the missiles destroyed is estimated to be in the millions of Russian roubles, translating into hundreds of thousands of pounds. For instance, a single Kh-32 missile is estimated at over 300 million roubles (approximately £2.5 million GBP).
