Air Defense Holds Strong: How Russians Reacted to August 25th Drone Attack
Nighttime drone attacks on Russian territory make Russians thankful for the work of Russian air defense systems and hate the attacker. So far, doubts about the course of the war in Ukraine and fears for their safety are not in the minds of Russians
On the night of August 25th, residents of the Moscow, Kaluga, and Tula regions were jolted awake by explosions in the sky. Some witnesses reported homes “shaking” and car alarms triggered by the blasts.
We published a unique video that captured air defense work in the southeast of Tula at 0.25 a.m. Moscow time on August 25, 2023. The sound of the explosion was heard by residents of almost all city districts. Local media, in violation of the established rule to call explosions “pops” or “sounds,” called the night attack exactly “explosions.”
However, most residents on social networks and media resources praised the work of the air defense forces, which managed to shoot down all the attacking objects. Moreover, some people did not wake up from the explosions at all and doubted the scale of what had happened.
The most common remarks of readers under the news about the August 25 explosions are “The air defense system is working well,” “Thank you to our army for protecting us,” “We should sleep better,” and “There’s no need to run around at night, I have to go to work tomorrow.”
We will learn whether the mood of Russians has changed after another attack on Russian cities from the weekly measurements of public mood conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation. The results will be published in the next few days. After previous drone attacks on Russian cities, the mood of Russians did not worsen. For example, between August 18 and August 20, 2023, Russians believed that 53% of the people around them were calm. Only a quarter of Russians are worried about how the war in Ukraine is going, 6% are worried about drone attacks, and another 1% are worried about explosions on the Crimean Bridge.
Thus, we must admit that drone attacks on Russian cities do not scare Russians or make them question their safety. On the contrary, since all the targets were shot down by air defense systems, people are convinced that the state is protecting them from enemies firing drones and missiles at civilian homes.
The Russians’ realization that these attacks are a consequence of Russian forces’ much larger destruction of peaceful cities in Ukraine is not happening.
According to official comments from the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian air defense systems detected 42 drones on August 25, and an advanced S-200 missile was shot down in the Kaluga region.
Air defense work over Tula on the night of August 25, 2023. Exclusive video Close People.
