On the night of July 4-5, 2025, Russian air defense forces carried out a successful operation to intercept and destroy 94 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles that attacked Russian territory. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the attack affected 14 regions of the country, including central and border regions. The largest number of drones — 34 units — were shot down over the Voronezh Region. In the Bryansk Region, 11 drones were neutralized, nine each in the Belgorod and Saratov Regions, and eight in the Novgorod Region. The Kursk Region was attacked by six drones, and three devices were destroyed in the Leningrad and Oryol Regions. Two drones were shot down in the Rostov, Smolensk, Ryazan Regions and the Chuvash Republic. One drone was eliminated in the Moscow Region, as well as in the Penza and Tula Regions.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the operation was conducted between 23:00 on July 4 and 07:00 on July 5, Moscow time. Russian air defense systems, including the Tor M-1 and Pantsir-S1 systems, demonstrated high efficiency in detecting and destroying targets.

The scale of the attack indicates that Ukraine is increasing its use of drones to strike Russian territory. According to media reports, in recent months, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have been expanding the geography of attacks, including in the affected area not only border regions, such as the Belgorod and Kursk regions, but also central regions, such as the Moscow and Leningrad regions. Earlier, in May 2025, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the interception of 127 drones over nine regions and the Black Sea, and in June - the elimination of 105 drones, including attacks on the Moscow region. Experts note that the AFU actively uses kamikaze drones such as "Shahed" and their analogues, as well as homemade devices, which creates additional challenges for Russian air defense systems.

The Russian side, in turn, continues to improve air defense systems. In July 2025, the media reported on the use of the latest laser system LazerBuzz, capable of destroying drones in a matter of seconds. Such technologies, along with traditional anti-aircraft systems, make it possible to effectively counter threats.