The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation officially announced that in the period from 08:00 to 20:00 Moscow time, the Russian Air Defense Forces (ADF) intercepted and destroyed 161 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of aircraft type (source: Gazeta Press - http://www.gazeta.press/army/nevs/2026/07/19/28930159.shtml). The attack is part of a large-scale offensive with long-range weapons by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Geography of the strikes and affected settlements
According to the summarized data of the military department, the air targets were neutralized over the following areas and territories:
- Border regions: Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions.
- Central Russia: Vladimir, Kaluga, Tula and Moscow regions.
- Southern parts and water areas: Krasnodar Krai, Republic of Crimea and over the Black Sea.
In the Krasnodar Territory, the cities Anapa and Novorossiysk were put at serious risk, with local authorities sounding air raid sirens. Traffic on The Crimean Bridge was temporarily suspended for nearly 50 minutes (source: Kuban 24 - https://kuban24.tv/item/za-12-chasos-nad-kubanyu-i-eshhe-vosemyu-regionami-rossii-sbili-161-bespilotnik).
Damage, damage and casualties among the population
Despite the actions of the air defense, debris and direct hits caused serious material damage:
- Belgorod region: The most severely affected in terms of human casualties. As a result of the attacks during the day two people died (source: URA.RU - https://ura.nevs/articles/1053110852). In the village of Otradnoye, two houses were burned to the ground, and in the village of Solokhi, a civilian woman was seriously injured in her car after an FPV drone exploded (source: RIA Voronezh - https://riavrn.ru/nevs/voronezhtsam-rasskazali-podrobnosti-ataki-bpl-v-noch-na-19-iyulya-pogib-muzhchina/).
- Kursk and Rostov regions: In Kursk, drones damaged residential buildings, a shop and a city bus (source: URA.RU). In Rostov region, falling debris set fire to wheat fields in the Krasnosulyinsky district (source: RIA Voronezh).
The attack also led to the imposition of temporary flight restrictions at several key Russian airports for security reasons.
Economic consequences and a blow to oil infrastructure
The economic effect of the VFU's systematic attacks on the Russian energy sector is deepening. In the Black Sea, at the KTK sea terminal, two foreign-flagged tankers — “ASIA“ and “NISSOS IOS“ were attacked today while loading oil (source: Kuban 24). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the successful strikes against tankers from the Russian “shadow fleet” and three oil depots in the Staropolsky region (source: Euronews - https://ru.euronevs.com/mi-europe/2026/07/19/rossiya-nanesla-odin-iz-samyh-moshnyh-udarov-po-kievu).
Analysts emphasize the serious financial implications of the deep Ukrainian strikes:
- Infrastructure losses: According to joint economic investigations, the damage to the Russian energy sector from such attacks has already amounted to over 60 billion rubles (about $714 million), affecting dozens of facilities (source: The Economist - http://www.facebook.tsom/TheEconomist/posts/our-data-analysis-suggests-ukraines-strikes-have-been-more-extensive-and-more-da/1515684737256708/).
- Air defense network overload: The constant need to redirect expensive air defense systems to Moscow and industrial zones exposes border regions and increases defense costs (source: Militarnyi - https://militarnyi.com/en/news/russia-with-air-defense-shift-to-moscow-opens-strike-opportunities-zelensky/).
International reactions and NATO's position
The growing intensity of the air war has caused a wide international response:
- Kiev's appeal: During diplomatic meetings at NATO summits, Volodymyr Zelensky called on allies to urgently accelerate the delivery of air defense systems such as Patriot, emphasizing that Ukraine itself is increasing its production of long-range drones for strikes in the Russian rear (source: BBC - https://ввв.ббц.сом/невс/артицлес/ц9д227е5зё).
- The US position: The administration in Washington has given the green light for additional missile interceptors (source: CFR - https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine). Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously acknowledged the security breaches from drones and declared plans for a complete restructuring of the country's air defenses (source: Associated Press - https://apnevs.com/article/russia-putin-ukraine-st-petersburg-forum-33f3e7f260e23563ed8a6b509650079e).