"What is he doing? Where is he flying?" Scary recordings of Russians on the internet
Several Ukrainian drones were reportedly shot down over the Smolensk region and Smolensk itself. According to unofficial information, their target was the Smolensk-Severny military airport, where aircraft factories are located. Explosions were also heard over Vladimir Putin's beloved city - Sochi. Online footage of the unmanned aircraft and the panicked reactions of Russians have emerged.
Oct 1, 2023 | updated: 9:05 AM EDT, October 5, 2023
As the Russians claim, a total of five drones were shot down over the Smolensk region and Smolensk itself. This was reported by the governor of the Smolensk region, Vasily Anochin, assuring that there were "no damages".
Is Smolensk-Severny airport the destination?
The Wczk-OGPU channel claims that the target of the drones was supposed to be Smolensk-North military airport.
"In one of the videos recorded by witnesses and posted on social media, you can see a drone flying near the Volna car wash and the Kutuzov shopping center. From the analysis, it follows that these buildings are located on Kutuzov Street, and the drone is heading towards the nearby building of the Smolensk Aviation Plant. There is also the Siewiernyj airport within the plant premises." - reports the channel.
As we read on the website of the Smolensk Aviation Plant, the main areas of its activity are the serial production of products developed in the enterprises of the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation; custom production of Yak-18T, SM-92T aircraft in various modifications; maintenance of Yak-18T aircraft, production of spare parts for Yak-40 and Yak-42 aircraft.
In October 2022, the TASS Agency reported that the Ministry of National Defense had burdened the factory with government orders until 2025, and the volume of production will increase fourfold over several years - from six to 24 billion rubles. To achieve this, the company had to double the number of employees.
Explosions in Putin's beloved city. "What is he doing? Where is he going?"
Recordings published by terrified Russians have appeared on the network. In one of the videos, you can see a flying drone. A few seconds later, a powerful explosion takes place.
Channel Baza reports that in Krasnodar Territory there was a drone explosion near the international airport in Sochi - Putin's favorite city, where he has his residences.
The operation of the Sochi airport has been temporarily suspended. It is known that one flight has been canceled, and 14 were delayed.
The Mayor of Sochi announced on Telegram that the airport has "resumed operations" after the attack.
"Today around 8 a.m., the air defense systems serving over the territory of Krasnodar Territory destroyed an unmanned aircraft. To ensure safety, a temporary flight restriction was introduced at the international airport in Sochi. Planes heading to Sochi were immediately redirected to alternate airports. Since 8.20 a.m., the airport has been operating normally. The situation in the city is calm," - wrote Alexey Kopaygorodsky.
In subsequent footage published online, it can be seen how one of the downed drones crashes near the airport.
- What is he doing? Where is he flying? Is he out of energy? Oh, he fell. Will there be some kind of boom, or did he just fall? - says the Russian man who recorded the moment of the drone falling in Smolensk.
The Ukrainian side has not yet commented on these reports.
