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Russia’s Novosibirsk Region Issues First Drone Alert, Over 3,500 Kilometers From Ukraine
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An unprecedented drone threat alert was declared on July 6 evening in Russia's Novosibirsk region, an area located more than 3,500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, marking the first time the territory has faced such a warning since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian Unified State System for Prevention and Elimination of Emergency Situations sent out mass emergency notifications to local residents at 21:45 on July 6, instructing them to remain indoors, avoid windows, and seek shelter in windowless rooms with load-bearing walls or move to the nearest safe location if they were outside or in vehicles, as reported by The Moscow Times.
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According to Novosibirsk Governor Andrey Travnikov, the air raid alarm was initiated based on an assessment of the unfolding situation in an adjacent region and separate statements from citizens who reported seeing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In the neighboring Omsk region earlier that day, a strike hit the Omsk Oil Refinery, which is the most powerful refinery in Russia and the final major facility of its kind that had not yet been reached by Ukrainian drones.
Travnikov later stated that a comprehensive verification of the airspace confirmed no dangerous aircraft were present over the Novosibirsk region, leading authorities to lift the drone threat regime around midnight.
Despite the assurances from the regional governor, the Federal Air Transport Agency reported a temporary suspension of operations at Novosibirsk's Tolmachevo Airport to maintain flight safety.
The restrictions on arriving and departing aircraft, which are standard procedure during suspected drone operations, remained in effect for approximately 30 minutes.
This incident follows a growing trend of long-range air defense emergencies spreading deeper into Russian territory.
In late May, a missile threat regime was activated simultaneously across all six regions of the Urals Federal District, including the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, and Tyumen regions, as well as the Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenezk Autonomous Okrugs, the latter being located more than 2,100 kilometers from Ukraine.
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Additionally, residents of the Omsk region experienced their first missile threat warnings on June 10.
Following the drone threat alerts in Siberia, details emerged that Ukraine’s long-range drones successfully struck the Omsk Oil Refinery on July 6, 2026, marking the first known attack on Russia’s largest oil refinery.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Special Operations Forces (SSO) later confirmed the strike, describing the facility as the last of Russia’s 11 largest gasoline-producing refineries to be targeted.
Ukrainian drones traveled approximately 3,000 kilometers to hit the primary crude oil processing unit, triggering multiple fires inside the complex that handles roughly 10% of the country’s total refining capacity.
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