Unidentified drones struck Sevastopol's air defense systems

On the evening of May 22, 2026, a series of powerful explosions rocked the temporarily occupied city of Sevastopol, likely caused by an airstrike. Local residents reported seeing plumes of smoke rising in several areas of the city, as well as near the strategic Cape Fiolent. 

This was reported by the monitoring Telegram channel “Crimean Wind.” According to preliminary eyewitness accounts, the strike targeted positions of the Russian “Pantsir” anti-aircraft missile and gun system, which was providing cover for the invaders’ military facilities.

While repelling the attack, Russian air defense forces demonstrated malfunctions in their weapons systems. Specifically, at 7:51 p.m., an anti-aircraft missile was launched from the area of the Kacha military airfield; immediately after launch, it lost control and crashed to the ground. At the same time, to intercept the aerial targets, the invaders urgently scrambled a fighter jet from the Belbek airfield. This military infrastructure of the invaders had already suffered serious losses a few days earlier, when on May 17, the Security Service of Ukraine, together with the Defense Forces, successfully struck logistics and air defense assets at the same airfield.

On the night of May 21–22, 2026, the Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out a large-scale series of coordinated strikes on military infrastructure facilities, logistics hubs, and Russian troop deployment sites. 

Soldiers of the 3rd Special Operations Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard, “Spartan,” successfully destroyed Russian invaders’ vehicles near the temporarily occupied city of Donetsk. 

The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed a pilot training facility belonging to the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences.