Drone 'from abroad' crashes in military airfield in Russia

It is unclear from where abroad the unmanned aerial vehicle came. Kaluga is located between Moscow and Ukraine.

 A part of an unmanned aerial vehicle, what Ukrainian military authorities described as an Iranian made suicide drone Shahed-136 and which was shot down near the town of Kupiansk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, is seen in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 13, 2022 (photo credit: THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTORATE OF THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
A part of an unmanned aerial vehicle, what Ukrainian military authorities described as an Iranian made suicide drone Shahed-136 and which was shot down near the town of Kupiansk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, is seen in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 13, 2022
(photo credit: THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTORATE OF THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

A drone "believe to have flown in from abroad" crashed at a military airfield in the Kaluga Oblast on Friday, Interfax reported.

"There were no casualties," assured governor Vladislav Shapsha. "The airfield infrastructure and equipment were not damaged. There are no threats to work."

It is unclear from where abroad the unmanned aerial vehicle came. Kaluga is located between Moscow and Ukraine.

Russian drones have been facing criticism during the Ukraine-Russia War for not meeting the military's tactical requirements. Russian state media has reported that some platforms had to be simplified for continued use. Due to sanctions and restrictions on foreign materials and electronics, many Russian military products have had to use older technologies to sustain some weapon platforms.

"The airfield infrastructure and equipment were not damaged. There are no threats to work."

Governor Vladislav Shapsha

Iranian drones

Russia has been purchasing Iranian drones to shore up the drone gap in their military forces, such as the Shahed-136 suicide UAV. 

 A view shows a Russian airforce plane at the Belbek airport near Sevastopol, Crimea (credit: REUTERS)
A view shows a Russian airforce plane at the Belbek airport near Sevastopol, Crimea (credit: REUTERS)

"For some reason, Iran claims that there are no Iranian-made drones in Ukraine," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked on Thursday. "People see them in the sky. We shoot them down. But we are told that there are allegedly no Iranian drones in Ukraine. Well, we’ll find ways to ensure that there aren't any left indeed."

Mysterious ammunition plane crash

The Friday drone crash comes after an ammunition plane crashed and suffered a partial detonation of munitions at a Russian base in the Crimean peninsula on Saturday.

According to the Russian governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, the airfield was not damaged, however videos and pictures showing a black pillar of smoke billowing into the sky spread quickly on social media.

Roman Meitav and Michael Starr contributed to this report.