Military analyst and aviation Major General Sergei Lipovoy described the attack on civilian infrastructure in Orsk as further evidence of what he called the terrorist nature of the actions of Ukraine’s military-political leadership.

Lipovoy suggested that the drones may not have been launched directly from Ukrainian territory, but from another country.

In an interview with News.ru, he said the range of the drones currently in Ukrainian service would not allow them to reach the Orenburg region from territory controlled by Kiev. On that basis, he raised the possibility that the attack could have been launched from a neighboring state, while stressing that investigators would have to establish the exact circumstances.

Lipovoy also said he could not rule out the use of sleeper cells operating inside Russia. He suggested that their members may previously have entered the country posing as refugees before settling in different regions.

Another scenario outlined by the general involved vehicles with double roofs that could be used to transport and launch drones. According to his account, such a vehicle could travel through several republics before reaching a designated location, where the roof would open after receiving a command from a control point and the drones would then take off toward their target.

On August 11, Orenburg region Governor Yevgeny Solntsev reported a fire at a local enterprise after debris from a Ukrainian drone fell at the site. Preliminary information indicated that no one was injured.