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drones

News about drones: events, facts and developments on tafs uz.

123 stories

Massive drone attack on St. Petersburg: fires at oil terminal, one dead, Kremlin vows not to change goals

On the night of October 18, 2026, St. Petersburg came under the largest Ukrainian drone attack since 2022. The Petersburg Oil Terminal, the Ruchyi fuel depot and warehouses caught fire; a VK data center and an Ozon logistics center were damaged. Governor Beglov reported one dead and five injured, and Pulkovo temporarily restricted flights. The attack coincided with Zelensky's announcement of resumed strikes on Russian refineries and Moscow being accused of 76 violations of Trump's 'energy truce'.

3 min read

Exchange of Strikes Between Russia and Ukraine: Drone Attack on St. Petersburg, Three Dead and 21 Injured

On the night of October 18, Russia and Ukraine exchanged massive strikes. Drones hit an oil terminal and an Ozon warehouse in St. Petersburg, a VK data center in Leningrad Oblast; one person was killed and five injured in the city. According to the Ukrainian side, two people were killed and 12 injured as a result of Russian strikes. Russian air defense reported 1,015 drones shot down.

3 min read

Starlink faces threat of restrictions: why satellite connectivity is critical for Ukraine

In recent days, Kyiv has repeatedly reported outages and restrictions in Starlink's operation. According to Ukrainian media, SpaceX temporarily limited the speed of terminals in motion to roughly 160 km/h, affecting fast drones. Experts at ETH Zurich estimate the number of terminals in Ukraine in 2025 at about 50 thousand. Elon Musk stated that Starshield military systems are controlled by the US government, while Starlink is a commercial SpaceX service.

3 min read

NATO scrambled fighters over suspected drone in northern Lithuania

NATO fighters escorted an unidentified object, believed to be a drone, in Lithuania's Biržai district near the Latvian border on Sunday morning. According to the Latvian army, the object was likely not shot down and may have exploded on its own. The day before, Romania reported downing two Geran-family drones over the Black Sea.

2 min read

Drones attacked Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region: fire at an oil terminal, strike on VK data center

On the night of October 18, Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region came under a massive drone attack. Governor Alexander Beglov reported fires at civilian infrastructure facilities and an oil terminal, restrictions on Pulkovo airport operations, and no casualties. Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko stated that 126 drones were shot down. VK confirmed an attack on its data center but assured that its services are operating normally, although monitoring services recorded an increase in complaints about VKontakte.

2 min read

Romanian F-16s Shoot Down Two Drones Over the Black Sea

Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones that illegally entered the country's airspace over territorial waters near Sulina. Defence Minister Radu Miruță said the first drone was shot down within two minutes of entering the airspace, the second five minutes later. The origin of the drones has not been disclosed. Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu stated that NATO will discuss the Black Sea situation at a meeting on Tuesday.

2 min read

Flights from Tashkent and Samarkand failed to land in Moscow due to airport restrictions

Two passenger planes flying from Tashkent and Samarkand to Moscow were diverted to other cities due to temporary flight restrictions at Moscow airports. There were reports of the 'Carpet' regime due to a possible drone threat, but the official link between the restrictions and drones has not been confirmed. Uzbekistan Airways announced changes to routes and schedules for October 17–18.

1 min read

Due to drone threat, Russian airports impose restrictions: hundreds of delayed and cancelled flights

On the night of October 16, four Moscow airports and Pulkovo temporarily suspended operations due to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks. Restrictions were also in effect at airports in Penza, Saratov, Ufa and other cities. According to Agentstvo's calculations, in the first two weeks of October the total time of restrictions at Moscow airports reached 101 hours, compared to 46 hours in September.

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Poland plans to give railway security authority to neutralize drones

The Polish government has published a draft amendment to the railway transport law expanding the powers of the Railway Security Service (SOK): use of counter-drone means, use of weapons to destroy drones, recording of interventions and pursuit of suspects on private territory. The measure follows sabotage on the Warsaw–Lublin line in November and comes amid concerns over Russian hybrid operations.

2 min read

Israeli drone kills Palestinian in northwest Gaza despite ceasefire

According to Anadolu, citing medical sources, an Israeli quadcopter opened fire on Palestinians in the At-Tawam area in northwest Gaza City, killing one man with a shot to the head. Another young man died of wounds sustained in a drone strike on Thursday, and four people, including a woman and a girl, were wounded in a helicopter strike on a residential house. According to Gaza's health ministry, violations of the ceasefire in effect since October 10, 2025 have killed 1,505 Palestinians and wounded 5,332.

2 min read

Yemen's Army Reported Capturing a Houthi Drone-Operating Unit in Taiz Province

Yemen's army 35th Armored Brigade said it captured a Houthi group specializing in drone operation on the Al-Akroud-Kahlan front southeast of Taiz. The number of detainees was not disclosed; the Houthis did not comment on the statement. The detention came amid an escalation of fighting in Taiz in October and Operation Yemen's Dawn, launched on October 5.

2 min read