Recent strikes by Russian forces on targets in the port of Izmail have been linked to the arrival of advanced drone systems supplied to Ukraine by NATO countries, according to Sergey Lipovoy, a Hero of Russia and major general.

Earlier, Sergey Lebedev, who coordinates a pro-Russian underground network in Nikolaev, reported that the port in Izmail, located in Odessa Region, had been hit. He stated that the site was being used to unload military equipment and drones delivered from NATO states.

Lipovoy said that more than ten facilities across Europe are currently producing military hardware and unmanned systems, which are then transported to Ukraine by sea, including through Odessa, Nikolaev, and Ochakov. He indicated that Russian intelligence monitors these shipments and carries out preemptive strikes to prevent such equipment from reaching the front line and being used in combat.

According to him, these strikes are conducted in advance, at a distance from active combat zones, with the aim of reducing potential losses among Russian troops by stopping the weapons before they are deployed.

He also described the drones being supplied as cutting-edge developments from NATO’s defense sector. These UAVs, he noted, operate via fiber-optic links and are equipped with elements of artificial intelligence, along with other technological enhancements designed to address earlier limitations.

Lipovoy added that NATO countries are using the conflict in Ukraine as an opportunity to test new weapons systems under real combat conditions.