During the night of June 4, the head of the republic reported that Crimea came under a drone attack involving nine unmanned aerial vehicles. The regional air defense system intercepted five drones, while electronic warfare devices neutralized four more. According to the governor, there were no injuries.
As a result of one drone’s crash, windows in three private residences and two vehicles in Dzhankoy were damaged, the governor wrote on his Telegram channel. A drone that did not explode was found near a private home, and about 50 residents were evacuated to temporary shelters before the area could be cleared of mines. He urged residents to stay calm and rely on official, verified information sources.
Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Crimean president, noted that a drone was shot down overnight in Dzhankoy and confirmed damage to windows in several private houses. Local residents cited by a news outlet described the drone incident as having occurred late at night.
One eyewitness described waking to a loud impact before dawn, noting that the drone had caused structural damage to a few doors and cracked windows, though the situation was not described as catastrophic. This incident followed a prior report that drones were destroyed in Dzhankoy on the night of May 25, when authorities said six drones were downed. Earlier in the year, Dzhanköy experienced drone strikes that damaged a private home and a grocery store, with a 33-year-old resident sustaining shrapnel injuries. In response, the city implemented a municipal-level state of emergency.
Residents also neutralize drones
In Sevastopol, Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev shared that a resident managed to take down a drone equipped with a camera using improvised means. When pressed for specifics, the governor’s office indicated that security services reported a non-explosive drone with a single camera. The incident underscored community involvement in drone defense at the local level.
Earlier in May, Crimea and Sevastopol faced more than ten drone incursions. One drone reportedly veered into a forest, another crashed over the sea near Cape Khersones, and a third was intercepted above the North Pier, according to Razvozhaev. In February, Crimea had an extended high threat level signaling precautionary measures across the region, while since October 2022 a moderate protection regime has been in effect.
Over time, several regions have adopted restrictions on drone operations to bolster safety. By late May, 56 regions had instituted UAV bans, with Crimea maintaining such a ban since August of 2022. Authorities continue to explore defensive strategies against drone threats, including consideration of legal allowances for non-state security entities to counter drones targeting critical facilities not protected by typical law enforcement authorities.