Kremlin-appointed Crimean governor Sergei Aksyonov announced that one man was killed and two people, including a 10-year-old child, were injured in an attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in Northern Crimea.
The information was confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense, which specified that the attacks were part of a large-scale coordinated offensive with drones. According to local authorities, as of 3:30 a.m. Bulgarian time on July 5, air defense systems in the region remain on full combat alert due to fears of secondary waves.
Paralysis in St. Petersburg and Kronstadt
Outside the borders of Crimea, Kiev has launched one of its largest-scale operations for deep strikes into Russian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has officially confirmed that Ukrainian drones have struck a key oil terminal in St. Petersburg. He said the target was "infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia's war."
The Russian naval base in Kronstadt was also hit. St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov acknowledged the attack. In an attempt to stop the drones from navigating, Russian authorities urgently stopped flights at Pulkovo Airport and restricted the city's mobile internet.
Scale of the operation and damage to the power grid
- Over 500 air targets: The Russian military claims to have intercepted hundreds of aircraft, including 494 drones and 10 cruise missiles.
- Total blackout in Belgorod: The border city of Belgorod was left almost completely without electricity and water supply after heavy overnight strikes on the energy infrastructure.
- Fires in Leningrad Region: Governor Alexander Drozdenko confirmed that debris had also fallen in the large Baltic port of Vysotsk.
- Casualties in Bryansk: Another civilian has been officially reported dead in the Bryansk region.
Experts are calling this coordinated wave an “asymmetric response“ by Kiev after the devastating Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital earlier this week, as well as an attempt to exert strong pressure ahead of the upcoming NATO summit.