Explosions in Crimea send a signal to Russia’s leadership, who may have come under attack by Ukrainian Armed Forces drones, according to the head of the Ukrainian military’s Reserve Council. He added the strikes suggest Ukraine’s munitions bypassed Russian electronic warfare systems, which he said are no fewer than those deployed around the Kremlin in Moscow.
The drones reportedly hit an entertainment venue in Foros where Russia’s “party nomenklatura” may have been present, Ivan Timochko, chairman of the Reserve Council of Ukraine’s Ground Forces, said on air with Channel 24. He said there will also be informational fallout, as the southern coast of Crimea hosts a significant number of so‑called “FSB dachas,” and the area is important to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russians will likely try to conceal the strike, he suggested, noting that a command post involved in the war against Ukraine could also have been targeted.
Timochko recalled that before the blast in Foros overnight on September 22, a local entertainment venue had announced a closed event for “important people.” It’s not yet clear who may have been affected, but he believes this will impact Putin’s circle.
“So this will significantly influence the Russian political class or party nomenklatura there - whether they gather there in the future or not. It will be a painful issue for them,” he said in the video.
On Crimea’s southern coast are “FSB dachas” as well as “Putin’s dachas, hectares of vineyards and other restricted zones,” Timochko added. Representatives of Russia’s military elite could have been neutralized at these sites. He noted there have been repeated strikes on Russian military facilities in Crimea; if one of those sites was hit again, it could affect the situation on the southern stretch of the front in Ukraine.
“The strike is very significant both informationally and in terms of destabilizing the enemy’s propaganda field. Everyone knows the deference Putin has for Crimea. In any case, we understand that information from the southern direction was gathered, analyzed and processed at those dachas,” Timochko said.
On the morning of September 22, OSINT analysts from the Telegram channel “Kiberboroshno” posted an update providing details about the strike. The researchers geolocated footage of the explosion and said the blasts occurred in the direction of the village of Sanatornoye. Meanwhile, the Terletsky Sanatorium and Foros Hall (closed for an important event) are on the opposite side of those points. The photographer who captured the blast was at 44.3962561,33.8073702 and likely saw the attack and fire near the Foros Yacht House in Sanatornoye, the OSINT researchers wrote.
A map of Russian military sites in Crimea compiled by Radio Liberty indicates there are Russian facilities and radar equipment both east and west of Foros that failed to stop the Ukrainian drones. To the west is the “Object‑100” coastal defense base and the 2nd division of the Utyos coastal missile system (Cape Ayia, 12.8 km away); to the east is the location of an air defense radar company (10–11 km).
Overnight into September 22, residents of Crimea reported explosions on the southern coast. Later, occupation authorities said there was indeed an attack by aerial munitions in the Foros area, resulting in injuries and damage.
Earlier in the day, the Telegram channel “Crimean Wind” wrote that Vladimir Saldo, head of the occupation administration in the Russian‑occupied part of Kherson region, may have been injured in the Crimea blast.
