Heroic Civilians in Siberia Recognized for Attempting to Halt Drone Assaults on Military Bases

Authorities in the Irkutsk region of eastern Siberia announced on Monday that they will commend a group of civilians filmed attempting to thwart Ukrainian drones during an attack on a military airbase the previous day.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that “multiple aircraft ignited” on Sunday due to drone assaults on the Belaya airbase in Irkutsk, located more than 4,000 kilometers (2,700 miles) from Ukraine’s border, as well as on the Olenya airbase in the northwestern Murmansk region.

Military officials noted that airbases in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions were also targeted.

Governor Igor Kobzev of the Irkutsk region described this as the “first incident of this nature in Siberia,” stemming from a coordinated effort referred to as “Spider’s Web” by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky labeled it the country’s “most extensive operation” since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion over three years ago.

Kobzev mentioned that the regional emergency response center had analyzed social media footage depicting “concerned citizens attempting to disrupt the drones’ activities,” and noted that officials would “evaluate their actions and determine the reward.”

Eyewitness recordings showed individuals throwing stones to those on the roof of a stationary cargo truck, utilized as a drone launching platform. “Everyone in this parking lot lent a hand,” stated one man. “We threw rocks to try to stop them from taking off.”

A source from the SBU revealed to Ukrainian media that the trucks were equipped with wooden structures that had remotely opening roofs for drone launches. Images released by the SBU displayed numerous drones housed in cargo containers.

The Russian Defense Ministry corroborated that the drones were launched “in close proximity to the airbases,” clarifying that they were not fired from Ukrainian soil.

Governors from neighboring regions, including Buryatia, Tyva, and Novosibirsk, reported that they had heightened security protocols in response to the attacks in the Irkutsk region and other locations across Russia over the weekend.