Russian military authorities have issued a stark warning regarding a significant escalation in Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations targeting Russian territory. In an official statement released on their Telegram channel, defense officials attributed this anticipated increase to substantial losses sustained by Ukrainian armed forces along the front lines of the ongoing conflict.
The Ministry of Defense provided detailed figures on recent aerial defense operations, announcing the successful interception of 37 drones over the Bryansk region. Additional UAVs were neutralized in other strategic locations: 22 over Kursk, 11 over Kaluga, 11 over Moscow, four over Tula, two over Voronezh, and one each over Belgorod, Rostov, and Oryol territories.
Concurrently, Russia’s national air transport agency, Rosaviatsia, implemented temporary flight restrictions at multiple airports citing security concerns. The affected airports include those serving Saratov, Tambov, and Yaroslavl, along with two of Moscow’s four major airports—Vnukovo and Zhukovsky International.
The context for these developments traces back to February 24, 2022, when Russia initiated what it terms a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has consistently framed this campaign as a necessary measure to protect Russian-speaking populations from what he describes as ‘genocide by the Kiev regime.’ Additionally, Russian leadership has emphasized the operation’s strategic purpose in countering perceived national security threats resulting from NATO’s continued eastward expansion toward Russia’s borders.