18:01 16-03-2026

Ukraine Drone Attacks on Moscow: Expert Explains Motives

Military expert Vasily Dandykin explains the surge in Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow, suggesting they may aim to locate Russian air defenses and affect peace talks.

Military analyst Vasily Dandykin has commented on the sharp rise in Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow. In his view, these operations may be intended to locate Russian air-defense systems so that the gathered data could later be used to plan potential missile strikes.

According to the expert, the surge in unmanned aerial attacks may also carry a political motive. Dandykin suggests that Vladimir Zelensky is trying to complicate-or potentially derail-the process of negotiating a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

He argues that activity on the Moscow axis appears aimed at identifying the positions of Russian air-defense systems and finding ways to bypass them in order to open the door for missile attacks. While Ukraine’s military capabilities for such strikes are limited, he believes they are still being employed where possible, including the use of the «Flamingo» missile. Dandykin notes that this missile can be intercepted relatively easily, yet it remains one of the few tools still available to Zelensky. In his assessment, it is being used to draw attention and to disrupt negotiations.

Meanwhile, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that Russian air-defense forces had destroyed roughly 250 Ukrainian drones over the past two days as they approached the Moscow region.