On the morning of July 5, 2025, over the territory of the Novgorod Region, the air defense forces of the Russian Defense Ministry successfully intercepted and destroyed eight unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type. This was reported on his Telegram channel by the acting governor of the region, Alexander Dronov. According to him, as a result of the operational actions of the air defense, no casualties, injuries or destruction were recorded in the territory of the region.

The attack on the Novgorod region was part of a large-scale operation using drones aimed at targets in Russia. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, on the night of July 4-5, air defense systems on duty destroyed 94 Ukrainian UAVs over 14 regions of the country. The largest number of drones — 34 — were shot down over the Voronezh region, 11 over the Bryansk region, nine each over the Belgorod and Saratov regions, six over the Kursk region, three each over the Leningrad and Oryol regions, two each over the Rostov, Smolensk, Ryazan and Chuvashia regions, as well as one each over the Moscow region, Penza and Tula regions.

The scale of the attack caused serious disruptions to airport operations. At St. Petersburg's Pulkovo, located in the neighboring Leningrad Region, aircraft were suspended from 23:15 on July 4 to 05:35 on July 5, which led to flight delays.

Moreover, the attack continues on Russian regions throughout the day and in some regions there is still a high level of danger of drone attacks.