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Ukraine and its NATO partners launched several attacks on the Russian territory. Several incidents with UAVs took place in different Russian regions.
On February 27, three Ukrainian UAVs were intercepted over the Russian border Belgorod region. Russian air defence systems shot down the UAVs over the city of Belgorod. The wreckage of drones fell on residential buildings without causing significant damage.
“In Belgorod, the wreckage of three unmanned aerial vehicles was found at once. There are no casualties, but there is destruction: some windows are broken out, some cars are slightly damaged. The special services are already dealing with the situation. Since I am in the hospital myself, I instructed the mayor of Belgorod, Valentin Demidov, to go to the scene of the incident” the governor of the Belgorod region claimed.
The exact modification of the UAVs has not yet been identified, but most likely they are homemade kamikaze drones. They were equipped with explosive devices with striking elements in the form of small metal balls. According to some reports, the Ukrainian military used British explosives.
Their wreckage that was found in the city was sent for a detailed study, and already the first data indicated a British trace in the supply of such weapons to the Kiev regime.
The blocks carried by the UAVs were marked PE8 L23A1. Some sources claimed that these are explosive devices in special containers that were delivered to the Kiev regime by the British Ministry of Defense. The total mass of the explosive used in such a block is approximately 1.5-1.6 kg in TNT equivalent. Even one explosive is sufficient to cause significant damage to an infrastructure facility and civilians.
The target of the attack is unclear. The Ukrainian military likely attempted to hit the residential areas of the city in order to terrify the local population. Another target could be a fuel storage facility in the Belgorod region. Explosive devices could lead to catastrophe, including the detonation of tens of tons of hydrocarbon fuel in the storage facility. However, the UAVs failed to approach the facility and fell on the city streets. The work of the Russian air defense did not allow the drones that took off from the territory of Ukraine to achieve their goals.
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Another drone reportedly crashed in the Surazhsky district of the Bryansk region.
Another incident took place at night in the Russian city of Tuapse located on the Black Sea coast in the Krasnodar region. At about 2 a.m., fire broke out at the oil depot belonging to the Russian company Rosneft. It was extinguished within 20 minutes.
The oil storage itself was not damaged. According to local reports, the broiler building and the heating system of the dining room were damaged.
Some Russian sources supposed that the facility was targeted by the UAVs. According to unconfirmed reports, two drones packed with explosives attacked the oil depot. Some locals claimed that the drones were flying through the city, and not from the sea.
Any details and comments of the Russian officials are yet to be provided.
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Another UAV crashed in the Russian Republic of Adygea located in the south of the country. Its wreckage was found near the village of Novy. Local residents reported a loud explosion around two o’clock in the morning local time. As the head of the Republic clarified, as a result of the incident there were no casualties, only minor destruction of the livestock farm’s outbuildings was recorded. The circumstances of the incident are being clarified.
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These wreckage likely belongs to a Ukrainian UAV, possibly Tu-141 or Tu-143.
On February 28, another drone crashed in the Moscow region near the village of Gubastovo in Kolomna. Its target could be a civil infrastructure facility, Governor Andrey Vorobyov said in a telegram channel. The UAV was found 10 meters from the fence of the gas compressor station of Gasprom in Kolomenskoye district.
“As for the incident with the fall of a UAV in the Kolomna city district: it happened near the village of Gubastovo, the target was probably a civilian infrastructure facility, it was not damaged. There are no casualties and destruction on the ground,” he said.
According to preliminary reports, this was Ukrainian UAV UJ-22 Airborne, manufactured by Ukrjet.
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On February 28, all air flights were temporarily suspended in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region after an unidentified large UAV was spotted in the sky 160-200 kilometers from St. Petersburg.
According to preliminary information, the flying object was a simulator of a NATO UAV. But more detailed information has not yet been provided.
Russian fighters reportedly took off in the region.
A little after all the flies in the region were suspended, the alarm regime was stopped and landing of civilian aircraft began in the airport.
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Air alert reportedly sounded on TV channels and radio in some Russian regions. The signals sounded for only a couple of minutes. They called on viewers and radio listeners to go to the shelter.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia has denied reports of an air alert, clarifying that the announcement of an air alert was broadcasted as a result of hacking the servers of radio stations and TV channels information about .
The Ukrainian military and its NATO partners have already demonstrated their ability to carry out military provocations on the Russian territory, including with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles. Ukraine is actively using UAVs to attempt sabotage on Russian territory, including at a considerable distance from the zone of a special military operation.
All today’s emergencies should be considered as preparation for the spring offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, when the purpose of such strikes will be to destabilize Russian rear and disperse mass panic among Russians.
Kiev is assessing the reaction of Russian authorities, while the Ukrainian military is checking the capabilities of Russian air defense and cyber forces in various regions.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have already attacked Ukrainian factories and storage warehouses where, drones and their components supplied to Ukraine were manufactured. The enemy’s reserves were partially thinned out.
Today’s strikes on the Russian territory became the first test of unmanned Ukrainian systems to carry out a massive attack on several directions. So far, judjing by the preliminary reports, today’s attack failed to cause any significant damage to Russia.
