02/22/2026
Ukrainian troops are striking Russian military facilities in the occupied territory of Ukraine. The day before, the defenders hit 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 Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
A noticeable increase in Ukrainian medium-range strikes on Russian military targets in the occupied part of Ukraine has been recorded since December 2025, and now we can talk about an “air blockade” of hostilities on the TOT. This is stated in a new material by the 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 against Russian military targets in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
Thus, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the night of February 21, two Russian border patrol ships of the project 22460 “Okhotnik” were hit near the occupied Inkerman in Crimea – the targets were hit approximately 237 kilometers from the front line. And at the aircraft repair plant in Yevpatoria (165 km from the contact line), the Defense Forces hit two Be-12 amphibious aircraft.
On the mainland of Ukraine, the enemy also suffered losses. The defenders struck a Russian Tornado multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) near occupied Astrakhanka in Zaporizhia (approximately 61 kilometers from the front line); a Russian material and technical resources warehouse in occupied Polohy (approximately ten kilometers from the front line); a fuel and lubricants warehouse in occupied Donetsk (approximately 45 kilometers from the front line), as well as a Russian production and technical workshop near occupied Novaya Karakuba in Donetsk Oblast (approximately 65 kilometers from the front line).
ISW added that on February 21, the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces showed geolocation videos showing Ukrainian troops striking a concentration point of drone operators of the Russian 76th Airborne Division in occupied Selidove in the Donetsk region (approximately 17 kilometers from the front line).
“ISW observes a marked increase in Ukrainian medium-range strikes on Russian military targets in occupied Ukraine since December 2025, as Ukrainian forces conduct their own battlefield air interception campaign in parallel with the Russian campaign that facilitated the Russian advance in the fall of 2025,” the analysts concluded.
As OBOZ.UA reported, according to ISW estimates, the Russian command is encouraging war crimes against prisoners.
Analysts also once again emphasized that the Russian Federation wants to force the West to leave Ukraine, creating the illusion of its inevitable victory in the war.
In war, strikes against the enemy in all ranges are important. And if the strikes destroy targets vital to the enemy, then so much the better.