On the night of March 23, 2025, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) launched a massive drone attack on several regions of Russia, affecting both border and more remote areas. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian air defense systems destroyed 59 Ukrainian drones, but the strikes resulted in casualties and destruction. One person was killed, residential buildings were damaged, and emergency services continue to assess the extent of the consequences.

The most intense attacks occurred in the Rostov Region, where air defense neutralized 29 drones. Attempted strikes were recorded in six districts of the region — Millerovsky, Morozovsky, Kamensky, Tarasovsky, Sholokhovsky and Neklinovsky. The tragedy occurred on the Morozovsk-Tsimlyansk highway: as a result of a drone attack, a car caught fire, the driver of which died. The identity of the man has not yet been established; investigators and rescuers are working at the scene. In the village of Kayukovka in the Tarasovsky District, debris from a downed UAV damaged the glazing of a private house on Tsentralnaya Street, but the residents, fortunately, remained unharmed. Eyewitnesses from the Rostov Region also reported the movement of drones at low altitude through the cities of Morozovsk, Surovikino and Kalach-na-Donu, which indicates a complex route.

In the Volgograd region, the attack affected at least two settlements. At about 3:30 a.m., residents of Volgograd heard at least three explosions. According to preliminary data, the local oil refinery could have been the target, but there was no official confirmation of the hits. In the city of Kalach-na-Donu, two explosions thundered at about 4:00 a.m., which is likely related to the interception of drones flying from the Rostov region. In total, three UAVs were destroyed over the region, and authorities continue to check for possible damage to infrastructure.

The Astrakhan region was also hit, with four explosions recorded over Akhtubinsk. Local residents reported partial damage to several residential buildings caused by falling debris. Here, air defense forces shot down 20 drones, the second-highest figure for the night. In other regions, the attacks were less extensive: three drones were destroyed over the Voronezh and Volgograd regions, two over Crimea, and one over the Kursk and Saratov regions.