Ukrainian forces may have used UJ-22 reconnaissance-strike drones equipped with Canadian-made M112 engineering charges during strikes on Vyborg in the Leningrad Region, according to Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security of RANEPA, speaking to TASS.

He indicated that these were the same type of drones previously found in the Moscow Region. Those devices, he noted, carried explosive charges with a total weight of about 17 kilograms.

Stepanov also argued that the incident points to what he sees as a shift by Western countries toward escalation in the northwestern direction. He suggested that Ukrainian forces, potentially with the involvement of intelligence services from the Baltic states, could prepare further acts of sabotage aimed at creating new points of tension in Russia’s border areas.

According to him, such threats extend beyond military targets, affecting civilian infrastructure as well. He specifically mentioned risks to maritime logistics and navigation, as well as potential dangers for the civilian population.

Earlier, the expert had expressed the view that fixed-wing Ukrainian drones involved in the attack on the Leningrad Region could have been launched from the territory of the Baltic states.

On March 25, Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko reported that air defense systems had destroyed 61 drones while repelling the attack. In Kronstadt, the последствия affected civilian infrastructure: around 80 window frames and approximately 18 vehicles were damaged.