Russians are starting to loudly complain about Ukrainian drone strikes

An increasing number of Russian analysts believe that the intensity of Ukrainian drone raids will continue to grow. The Ukrainians themselves, of course, do not disclose how many drones they have launched toward military and logistical targets inside Russia or in Russian-occupied territories. However, the scale of these raids is evident from reports by Russian air defense forces (publicized by Kremlin propaganda as proof of success), videos of the attacks posted by residents of targeted towns, and announcements about the temporary shutdown of Russian airports.

Russians are beginning to openly acknowledge that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have amassed such a large number of drones that they can now regularly “harass” selected regions of Russia. The list of targeted areas and air defense reports both illustrate the scale of these unmanned aerial raids launched from Ukraine. For example, on February 17, 2026, the Russian Armed Forces reported shooting down and intercepting 151 Ukrainian “airplane-type” drones overnight.

According to data from the Ministry of Defense (Minoborony), most of these UAVs were destroyed over the Black Sea (50 units), another 29 were intercepted over the Sea of Azov, 38 over Crimea, 18 over Krasnodar Krai, 11 over Kaluga Oblast, 4 over Bryansk Oblast, and one over Kursk Oblast.

Such raids are increasingly disrupting the daily lives of ordinary Russians. For instance, an attack on facilities near Sochi was repelled over the course of about ten hours. Moreover, Ukrainian strikes have not only caused damage on the ground (for example, igniting fires at the Ilyinskaya refinery in Krasnodar Krai) but have also disrupted Russian civil aviation.

Officially, this led to the suspension of flights at seven Russian airports. In reality, the “Carpet” plan (under which all aircraft must immediately leave the designated area or land) was implemented at twelve airports — in Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Tambov, Perm, Ufa, Ulyanovsk, Izhevsk, Penza, Nizhnekamsk, Sochi, Gelendzhik, and Krasnodar.

The scale of these disruptions has prompted commentary in Russian media (notably on the Gazeta.Ru portal) suggesting that “Ukrainian drone attacks on a wide range of targets in the European part of Russia, especially deep inland, thousands of kilometers from the front line, inevitably provoke a very negative reaction among the population, and at times even disbelief in the capabilities of the Russian army.”

There are also alarming reports that “each Ukrainian drone attack raises questions among broad segments of Russian society about the effectiveness of the air defense system and the armed forces.” Russian analysts are dispelling any hopes that Ukraine will eventually run out of unmanned aircraft. On the contrary, they point out that:

• Ukrainian drones are “very simple devices”;
• “assembling hundreds or even thousands of such drones in Ukraine is entirely feasible”;
• “the Ukrainian defense industry possesses all the necessary expertise to do so”;
• “drones are being supplied to Ukraine by foreign partners in the hundreds and thousands — either fully assembled, in kits for later assembly, or produced in Ukraine under license from foreign manufacturers.”

Russian analysts also openly admit in the media that “neutralizing the facilities where Ukrainian drones are produced is a very, very difficult task.” This is due to the fact that “production sites for such equipment in Ukraine are extremely dispersed and concealed (to the extent that unmanned aerial vehicles are being assembled in underground facilities).”

Such opinions, now accessible to ordinary Russian citizens, differ sharply from what Kremlin propaganda has previously shown — and continues to show. Russians have suddenly learned that the attacks by inexpensive Ukrainian drones, compared to the anti-aircraft missiles used to counter them, “inevitably lead to the depletion of already limited stockpiles of surface-to-air missiles.” Kremlin propaganda rarely allows any mention of the dwindling resources of the Russian military.

Unfortunately, the conclusions drawn from such analyses align with the Kremlin’s official policy. Russian analysts are not calling on Putin to come to his senses and end the war, but rather to:

• comprehensively strengthen Russia’s air defense and armed forces;
• and intensify daily attacks by Russian forces on targets within Ukrainian territory.

This is intended as a kind of ultimatum to the Ukrainian government: “either you continue the armed conflict with highly uncertain and unpredictable consequences for Kyiv,” or Russia will “completely destroy Ukraine’s industry, energy sector, infrastructure, and communications.”