Russia took a dramatic new step to escalate hostilities the morning of February 23, with an enormous drone attack on Ukraine. Prior to 8 AM local time, they released an unbelievable 273 individual drones. The aerial attack was focused mostly on the Kyiv region, but the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk oblasts in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian air force stated that today’s attack represents Russia’s largest drone assault so far in the war. It’s a reflection of how much worse the conflict has gotten.
What is remarkable about the scale of the attack is not so much its unrelenting intensity, but its suddenness and timing. This announcement came only two days after Ukraine and Russia’s first direct talks since 2022. Coincidentally, it came just one day before a planned phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-U.S. President Donald Trump. Analysts are interpreting the timing as part of a broader, calculated strategy by Moscow. This action speaks volumes just days ahead of the first Cabinet-level dialogue between these two leaders.
The Russian air force by calling the drone attack a catastrophic event, highlighting the severity of the loss. Throughout the attack, 128 drones went off radar. This disappearance occurred due to a mix of reasons, such as system malfunctions, running out of fuel supply, or simply that they were fake decoys with no bombs. The previous record of Ukrainian forces was 44 drones shot down in one operation.
This tragic drone strike had a most devastating civilian casualty rate. A 28-year-old woman was killed in the capital region and at least three others, including a four-year-old girl, were injured.
Russia has made impressive strides in its drone warfare capabilities. To attack Ukraine alone, it has manufactured thousands of drones, both real and decoy drone targets. Its use as a decoy drone has been adopted and popularized by both sides of the conflict. These target decoys have been used to overload Ukrainian air defenses. They have the power to gum up defenses by making them expend resources on targets that end up posing no threat.
Serhii Kuzan, an expert on military tactics, stated, “Many of the drones Russia launches against Ukraine are decoys.” He further explained how these decoys are equipped with advanced features: “They are equipped with so-called Luneberg lenses, which increase their radar signature to appear larger, mimicking the appearance of cruise missiles or other aerial threats.” Kuzan emphasized that “decoys force the Ukrainian defenders to shoot them down,” thus complicating their defensive strategies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the drone attack as “deliberate” and urged the international community to impose heavier sanctions on Moscow. His comments underscore the continued importance of international support even as Ukraine continues to stand up to and push back against more egregious aggression by its neighbor.
This reminder came only a few days before the grim third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That war, which directly threatens European and global security, started on 23 February 2022. Only last year, Moscow in a similarly showy display of military strength unleashed a then-record 267 drones.