According to honored military pilot and Major General Vladimir Popov, Ukrainian forces may have launched the drones used in the attack on the Astrakhan Region from the Kherson area.

Popov said drones could have been sent from the Kherson or Zaporozhye regions across the Sea of Azov, then flown along the Caucasus mountain range before reaching the Astrakhan Region.

He also did not rule out launch points involving third countries. In his view, the drones could have been deployed from small vessels at sea, including fishing boats or schooners. After taking off from the sea or coastal areas, the UAVs could have approached Astrakhan through the Volga River delta.

A drone threat alert was declared in the Astrakhan Region on August 17 and remained in effect from 2:00 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. Moscow time. The Russian Defense Ministry said UAVs were destroyed over the region, although it did not specify how many.

In total, Russian air defenses destroyed 205 Ukrainian drones. They were intercepted over the Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Volgograd, Kaluga, Kursk and Rostov regions, as well as over Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.