War ministry confirms drone attack on Murmansk
According to the Russian military, a Ukrainian drone was shot down over the territory of Murmansk region on Wednesday morning.
"In the period between 10.05 and 11.40 Moscow time, the air defence forces eliminated two Ukrainian drones over the territory of Kursk and Murmansk Oblasts," the Moscow war ministry informs on Telegram.
The attack is confirmed also by regional Governor Andrei Chibis
"The drone has been eliminated," Chibis said on his social media channels.
The message from Chibis came about an hour after he went public with a warning against drone attacks.
"There is a danger of incoming UAVs," Chibis said. "All necessary measures are taken for the security of people, including a temporary closure of the air space," he explained.
The regional leader added that people should be on alert and rely only on official government information sources.
The drone warning comes as Ukrainian forces over the past days have attacked military and industrial targets across major parts of Northwest Russia. Earlier this week, the regions of Smolensk and Tver were attacked. On Tuesday, another Russian oil refinery was hit, this time Lukoil's plant in Kstovo, Nizhny Novogorod region.
On Wednesday morning, several airport across Northwest Russia were temporary closed. In addition to Murmansk, the Pulkovo airport in St.Petersburg was shortly closed for air traffic, media reports said.
It is not the first drone attack on the Kola Peninsula. In August and September 2024, there were at least two attacks on the military airport in Olenya. In one of the attacks, a local recorded a video of the shooting down of one of the drones only few hundred metres away from the strategically important air base.
In December 2024, there were two major explosions in the area between Murmansk City and the Northern Fleet base of Severomorsk . Regional authorities have provided no information about the blasts, but the Barents Observer soon found out that they happened in the air and that the site was located in the immediate vicinity of several key military installations.
It is likely that there have been several more attacks on the far northern militarised region. Russian authorities have not informed locals about the attacks and people have expressed growing concerns. Many call for information about shelters .
The city of Murmansk is located about 1,900 km north of Ukraine.
