In the early hours of 25 May, a wave of Ukrainian long-range one-way attack drones targeted the Migalovo airbase in Tver Oblast, where Russian military transport aircraft including Il-76 and An-124 are based. Footage shared by local residents showed explosions and gunfire were heard in Tver and Tver Oblast.
According to Russian news Telegram channel Astra, Tver region governor Igor Rudenya confirmed the attack and claimed,
“Five UAVs were shot down by the air defense forces of the Russian Ministry of Defense. There are no casualties or damage. Monitoring of the situation is ongoing.”
He later added that three additional drones were also allegedly downed.
Confirmed hit despite Russian air defenses
Despite official claims that all drones were intercepted, Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+ geolocated video evidence indicating that at least one drone exploded within the territory of Migalovo airbase. The site, used by the Russian Aerospace Forces’ 196th and 8th Military Transport Aviation Regiments, was visibly affected.
Footage shared by locals shows a drone flying toward the base under small arms fire, eventually detonating on-site. Additional videos from another angle captures the moment of the explosion.
Footage from the site showed that Russian military planes were evacuating from the base amid the attack.
Currently, the extent of damage, caused by the attack, remains unknown.
Local reports contradict official narrative
Following the explosion, residents near Migalovo reported a large fire and thick smoke rising from the area. Images published by Supernova+ and Exilenova+ show dark plumes above the airfield, suggesting the drone reached its intended target.
The airfield is located over 500 km from the Ukrainian border, highlighting the long-range capability of the drones used – the longest-range Ukrainian drones are known for hitting targets more than 1,000 km from Ukraine. Migalovo also serves both military and civilian aviation functions under Russia’s Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Transport, Militarnyi notes.
Ukrainian drones hit Energia plant supplying batteries for Iskander and Kinzhal missiles
Migalovo was targeted before
This is not the first attack on the Migalovo airbase. A previous drone strike was reported overnight on 2–3 September 2024, when residents also heard gunfire and UAV sounds. Video footage from that incident captured air defense activity over the airfield.
Potential friendly fire incidents
Following the latest attack, Astra and Supernova+ highlighted that local residents questioned whether some footage showed Russian air defense units firing at their own aircraft – possibly a Tu-series plane, as one of the narrators stated in a video, leaving the airbase under attack. One clip, geolocated to the area of the Narcissus medical center in Tver, about 10 km from Migalovo showed a possible friendly fire incident involving a passenger plane.
Exilenova+ reported that a passenger Airbus TC-NCU was also in the air above Tver during the attack and was also targeted but remained airborne according to flight monitoring data, suggesting no confirmed hits.
