Five Russian regions were hit with what appears to be the biggest wave of Ukrainian drone strikes yet on the night of August 30, in a widespread attack targeting Central Russia, as well as the Pskov region and Sevastopol.

The Bryansk region, which lies just across the border to Ukraine, experienced multiple strikes. The governor Alexander Bogomaz confirmed the Russian air defences had neutralised six drones, but many got through and did considerable damage.

It was announced by the Bryansk city administration that the regional Investigation Committee (IC) building sustained damage due to a drone. Furthermore, Bogomaz said Kyiv had targeted the TV tower using drones.

The authorities of the Bryansk region have consistently reported instances of shelling from Ukraine. Since October 19, 2022, a decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin established an average level of response within the region. Moreover, a high ("yellow") level of terrorist threat remains indefinitely in effect for the region.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova addressed the drone attacks by Kyiv on Russian territories during a segment on Sputnik radio. She attributed these attacks to the “lack of viable prospects for the Kyiv regime,” characterising their actions as driven by frustration, anger and a dearth of developmental pathways.

“The agony of the Kyiv regime is obvious, this stupid hatred and anger and the absence of any prospects in their own development, in development according to the scenario of the West. All this led to terrorist activities… Absolute dead end,” she said.

Pskov on Russia’s north-west border was also badly affected and its airport targeted. All flights scheduled for August 30 were cancelled. Pskov’s governor Mikhail Vedernikov reported that the Ministry of Defence had effectively repelled the attack on the airport and there were no casualties. However, an Il-76 aircraft had sustained damage, Vedernikov said.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has consistently condemned Kyiv's assaults on Russian regions using drones, asserting Russia’s "right to take robust retaliatory measures."

Ukraine is increasingly using drones to strike deep into Russian territory, starting with a little reported wave of drones that almost got to Moscow in February this year. That was followed by two drones that hit the roof of the Kremlin in May in what was reportedly an attempt to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin. More recently, there have been repeated drone strikes in Moscow on a weekly basis, which so far have done little structural damage and killed no one.

Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted the effectiveness of Russian air defence systems against the most recent drone attacks. He highlighted what he called “terrorist activity” primarily targeting residential areas and facilities.