Military expert and retired first-rank captain Vasily Dandykin says that drone strikes on Russia’s Bryansk Region, including those involving HIMARS multiple launch systems, are being carried out from the neighboring Sumskaya and Chernigovskaya regions of Ukraine. He specified that, in his assessment, Ukrainian forces are launching these attacks from a distance of roughly 20–30 kilometers.

Speaking about the Kursk Region, which also borders Sumskaya, Dandykin noted that, in his view, it is obvious the unmanned aircraft targeting this area are likewise being launched from Ukrainian territory there.

Dandykin described the Bryansk axis as a key defensive line on the approaches to Moscow. He recalled that when the enemy attempted to strike the Russian president’s residence at the end of December last year, most of the incoming targets were intercepted over Bryansk Region. Drawing a historical parallel, he pointed out that during the Great Patriotic War, Wehrmacht General Heinz Guderian, then commander of the 2nd Tank Army, also tried to push toward Moscow through Bryansk. Today, Dandykin argued, hostile strikes are being held back just as firmly.

According to him, Russian air-defense crews and mobile fire groups armed with machine guns are working effectively against incoming targets. He said he had personally observed their actions and called these servicemen genuine heroes, noting that they continue to perform their tasks in difficult conditions.

On the night of 9 February, Russian Defense Ministry air-defense assets on duty destroyed 27 jet-powered, fixed-wing drones over Bryansk Region. In neighboring Kursk Region, Governor Aleksandr Khinshtein reported that 54 enemy UAVs were shot down between 09:00 on 8 February and 07:00 on 9 February.