Multiple Explosions and Fire Reported Near Military Airfield in Southern Russia After Drone Attack

Early in the morning on Thursday, Oct. 10, dozens of combat UAVs targeted the Russian Khanskaya military airfield near Maykop, Adygea, 600 km from the Ukrainian border.

Explosions and fire near the airfield were widely reported by local residents and Russian Telegram channels. Adygea’s head, Murat Kumpilov, confirmed a drone attack on the “outskirts of Maykop” but did not specifically mention the Khanskaya military airfield. Ukrainian officials haven’t commented on the incident yet. 

Khanskaya Airfield, located approximately 3 km east of the village of Khanskaya and 6 km northwest of Maykop, is home to the 272nd training aviation base of the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School.

Residents from the nearby village of Rodnikovy were evacuated to Khanskaya, though the exact number of evacuees remains undisclosed. No casualties were reported.

The Astra Telegram channel corroborated the drone strike, indicating that the fire occurred near the airfield, according to NASA fire monitoring data.

Ukrainian OSINT channel Oko Gora reported that a fuel and lubricants warehouse might have caught fire near the airfield’s runway following the UAV attack. 

Another OSINT researcher, MT Anderson, added that the area could store airplane fuel tanks or even a bomb warehouse.

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The Russian Defense Ministry reported the interception of 92 Ukrainian drones overnight, with 47 shot down over the Krasnodar Territory, which surrounds Adygea. Other regions, including Kursk, Rostov, Bryansk, and Crimea, were also targeted, though no injuries were reported.

Several hours before this attack, late on Wednesday, October 9, Ukraine’s ongoing drone offensive against Russian military infrastructure achieved its third success in three days. The Armed Forces of Ukraine targeted a Shahed drone storage facility in Yeysk, located in the Krasnodar region, as part of their intensified long-range drone strikes.

Eyewitness reports suggest significant damage, but the Russian Defense Ministry or regional authorities have provided no official confirmation.