On the afternoon of October 8, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) launched a drone attack on the Omsk region, which has been repelled for several hours. The region is located 2,500 kilometers from the border.
Governor Vitaly Khotsenko announced the drone danger at 13:58 (10:58 Moscow time). More than three hours later, he clarified that the air defense forces continue to repel the attack from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). “There is a lot of contradictory and unreliable information being spread. Please be vigilant and trust only official sources. The situation is under control,” he added.
Soon after this, the Omsk airport introduced restrictions on the arrival and release of aircraft - they were lifted after 5.5 hours.
Since the beginning of 2026, the unmanned threat regime has been introduced in the region eight times, and since the beginning of autumn - the second time.
The governor's press secretary, Mina Akhverdiyeva, added after the alarm was announced that communication restrictions were possible in the region. Later, on social networks, Omsk residents began to complain about problems with Internet access and communication - residents of Omsk confirmed the presence of problems, the Gorod55 portal reported.
At the same time, the Ministry of Regional Security said that they do not plan to evacuate schools, kindergartens and hospitals, but they reminded that when an unmanned threat is declared, it is not recommended to go outside.
Two and a half hours after the drone threat began, Omsk residents began reporting the sounds of explosions. In particular, they were heard by residents of the Left Bank of the city, Neftyaniki and other areas. “I was walking home from school, it thundered three times, and the siren sounded for about two minutes...”, “It rumbled 6 times already, and so loudly,” “I heard a siren, and then a roar,” “Yes, there was a roar 5 times already,” “In 20 minutes, 2 explosions were heard. The house is shaking. It’s creepy,” said the Omsk residents.
Explosions were also heard in the city center, and at least one drone was recorded. At 18:16 it was reported that another UAV was destroyed on approach to Omsk. After about half an hour, it was claimed that the explosions had subsided.
At 19:23 Khotsenko added that air defense forces shot down most of the UAVs that attacked the region. “One drone reached the northern industrial hub. Emergency services are working on the spot,” he added, calling for all suspicious situations to be reported by calling 112.
Amid reports of a UAV raid, citizens allegedly headed en masse to gas stations, with queues forming at some gas stations. “People are afraid of possible interruptions and are in a hurry to refuel their cars,” explained the Omsk Incident channel.
Military expert Andrei Kolesnik shared data with Lenta.ru that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ attack on the Omsk region was most likely complex - using medium-range missiles and drones, since a distance of 2.5 thousand kilometers is too great for conventional drones.
“Either this is a series of drones, somewhere from sabotage groups inside Russia, or, after all, these are medium-range missiles, they shoot up to five thousand kilometers there,” Kolesnik said.
According to the expert, the launch could have been made from any region of Ukraine located close to Russia. He also emphasized that Ukraine is increasingly using combined strikes.
