After Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941, Drozd led the detachment on minelaying operations in the Irbe Strait and the Gulf of Finland. He supervised the movement of the cruiser from the Gulf of Riga to Tallinn, and led the detachment in the defense of the main naval base at the latter port, and its evacuation to Kronstadt. Noted for his "brave leadership" in these operations by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Drozd was promoted to vice admiral on 16 September and given commander of the Baltic Fleet Squadron. In this position he supervised the October evacuation of Hanko Naval Base and led the squadron in the defense of Leningrad. Awarded his second Order of the Red Banner in 1942, Drozd inspected the repairs of the ships of the squadron and the combat training of its personnel. He was killed on 29 January 1943 when his car fell through the ice between Kronstadt and Leningrad in the Gulf of Finland after a German shell broke the ice. He was buried in the Communist Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Leningrad.