Ukraine Has Arranged An Air Blockade Of Russia
- 22.02.2026, 9:25
U.S. analysts have revealed the details.
Ukrainian troops are striking Russian military facilities on occupied Ukrainian territory. The defenders the day before strike two Russian border ships and the same number of Be-12 amphibious aircraft near occupied Crimea, as well as a number of targets in the WOT of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
A noticeable increase in Ukrainian medium-range strikes on Russian military facilities in the occupied part of Ukraine has been recorded since December 2025, now we can talk about an "air blockade" of fighting in the WOT. This is stated in a new material of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
What is known
Analysts recalled the effective medium- and long-range strikes that the Defense Forces carried out on Russian military targets in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
So, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the night of February 21, two Russian border patrol ships of Project 22460 "Hunter" near the occupied Inkerman in Crimea were hit - the targets were hit about 237 kilometers from the front line. And at an aircraft repair plant in Yevpatoria (165 kilometers from the contact line), the Defense Forces hit two Be-12 amphibious aircraft.
On the Ukrainian mainland, the enemy also suffered losses. The defenders struck a Russian Tornado multiple rocket launcher system (MLRS) near occupied Astrakhanka in Zaporozhye (about 61 kilometers from the front line); a Russian logistics depot in occupied Pology (about ten kilometers from the front line); a fuel and lubricants warehouse in occupied Donetsk (about 45 kilometers from the front line), and a Russian production and technical workshop near occupied Novaya Karakuba in Donetsk region (about 65 kilometers from the front line).
The ISW added that on February 21, the AFU's Unmanned Systems Force showed geolocation video footage showing Ukrainian forces striking a staging point for drone operators of the Russian 76th Airborne Division in occupied Selidovo in Donetsk Region (about 17 kilometers from the front line).
"ISW sees a marked increase in Ukrainian medium-range strikes against Russian military installations in occupied Ukraine from December 2025, as Ukrainian forces conduct their own battlefield air interdiction campaign in parallel with the Russian campaign that facilitated the Russian advance in the fall of 2025," the analysts concluded.