Black entrance: why the Ukrainian Armed Forces are intensifying drone attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation

With the help of massive drone attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation, Ukraine is trying to prove that it is able to stand up to Russia on its own and achieve its participation in peace negotiations, experts say. In their opinion, this also demonstrates Kiev's desire to strengthen its position before Vladimir Zelensky's meeting with Donald Trump and the discussion of a rare earth metals deal, which may take place in the coming days. On the night of February 26, Russian air defense forces destroyed 128 Ukrainian UAVs over the Krasnodar Territory, Crimea and several other regions of the country. During the same time, the Russian Armed Forces hit 139 military targets behind enemy lines.

128 drones participated in the attack

On the night of February 26, air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 128 Ukrainian UAVs over four regions of Russia and the waters of the Black and Azov Seas, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Most of the drones — 83 — were shot down over the Krasnodar Territory, 30 over the territory of Crimea, eight over the Sea of Azov, five over the Black Sea, one each in the Kursk and Bryansk regions.

In the morning, the attack on the Krasnodar Territory continued — at 7:20 a.m., Russian air defenses shot down two more Ukrainian drones.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces also attacked civilian facilities: houses in Tuapse and Temryuk district were damaged, and an outbuildings were destroyed in the village of Dzhiginka near Anapa. The wreckage of a drone that fell in the village of Verkhnebakanskoye near Novorossiysk damaged a gas pipe. There was a fire, which was quickly eliminated.

According to preliminary data, there are no casualties, said the governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Veniamin Kondratiev.

It was the most massive raid on the Krasnodar Territory since the beginning of the SVO, Roman Shkurlatov, chairman of the Board of the all-Russian organization Officers of Russia, told Izvestia.

— The main target was the enterprises of the fuel and energy complex," the expert specified. — There is an oil refinery near Tuapse, and the port of this city with its infrastructure is also of interest. In addition, there were strikes on the Black Sea coast of Crimea. The enemy also used unmanned boats with FPV drones. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, by virtue of their capabilities, will continue such raids. They are accumulating weapons of destruction and trying to inflict massive blows, weaken us economically, thus influencing the course of hostilities. Fuel is the blood of modern warfare.

Zelensky's ambitions

By authorizing large-scale attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation using drones, Vladimir Zelensky is trying to show that the resolution of the conflict depends not only on Russia and the United States, but also on him, Vasyl Vakarov, a member of the Council of the Other Ukraine movement, told Izvestia.

— Zelensky wants to appear, if not a winner, then at least not a loser," the expert said. "He does not abandon his rhetoric. Even if Trump refuses to help Ukraine, Zelensky can say that allegedly "we have our own economy, it will be difficult for us, but we will be able to resist Russia on our own." After that, Ukraine will rely on the help of the EU and the UK.

Now Zelensky feels as if he represents the entire "liberal West," Vasily Vakarov added. According to him, the President of Ukraine was influenced, among other things, by the visit to Kiev of the members of the European Commission, which took place on February 24.

In addition, the expert did not rule out that Zelensky is already preparing for the election campaign, as Western countries are increasingly insisting on holding elections.

— We see that Zelensky is now even discussing with Trump, defending his positions. This means that he will not give up on hitting the territory of Russia," Vakarov summed up.

Zelensky's motives may also be an attempt by all means to improve his position on the eve of negotiations with the United States on rare earth metals, military expert Alexei Leonkov believes.

Earlier, Donald Trump said that Vladimir Zelensky would most likely visit the White House on Friday, February 28, to sign this deal as payment for the military aid provided.

— At the same time, it is clear that drones will not ensure a strategic victory, will not even affect the course of hostilities, will not stop our army, but, unfortunately, they will still cause some kind of damage," Leonkov said.

Vladimir Oleinik, an ex-deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, also drew attention to the senselessness of such strikes from a military point of view.

— The United States understands that Zelensky is trying to support the fire of war in order to get Europe's resources. And ending the conflict for him is political death," he told Izvestia.

UAVs instead of Abrams

The West is not currently supplying heavy military equipment in such quantities as the Ukrainian side would like, but it is trying to compensate for this with cheaper drones, military expert Alexei Leonkov told Izvestia.

— UAVs can be produced in thousands and cheaply — this is what Western countries are betting on. This is how they allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to maintain their combat capability. Therefore, drones will be flashed in the reports. They will try to use them massively. We will continue to look for their assembly sites and methodically destroy them," the expert noted.

Roman Shkurlatov recalled that the Russian Armed Forces carry out systematic attacks on Ukraine's military infrastructure on a daily basis.

— They involve Geraniums and missiles of different classes," the expert said.

The Russian Defense Ministry also reported that over the past 24 hours, our Armed Forces have continued to systematically destroy military installations behind enemy lines. They attacked the infrastructure of military airfields, drone depots, as well as concentrations of manpower and equipment in 139 regions of Ukraine. Aircraft, UAVs, rocket troops and artillery participated in the attack.

Drone strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2025

This year, the enemy has already launched several massive attacks on Russian territory using UAVs and long-range missiles. On the night of January 14th, 146 drones and several missiles were destroyed. Then the Armed Forces of Ukraine tried to strike targets in Tatarstan, Bryansk, Saratov, Tula and a number of other regions.

On the night of January 24, 121 enemy UAVs were shot down over Russian territory. At that time, as Izvestia wrote, the Ukrainian militants used new ammunition — drones with jet engines, which were announced by Zelensky and the Ukrainian Armed Forces in December 2024.

And on January 29, Ukrainian militants tried to hit the facilities of the Russian fuel and energy complex. In total, 104 enemy drones were intercepted and destroyed by air defense systems on duty.