New Plot Striking the Heart of Russia Is Nightmare for Putin

Ukraine has conducted a series of audacious attacks deep inside Russia against military and economic targets, including at least two drones striking a training facility on Tuesday. Ukraine has used drones to attack Russia before, even striking the Kremlin itself, but Ukraine has never used so many drones in a short space of time and never before reached this deep into Russian territory. For over a month, Ukraine’s one-way attack (OWA) drone program has targeted Russia’s production facilities, oil infrastructure, and some of the airbases that facilitate Russia’s missile strikes.

OWA drones like the ones Ukraine uses force defenders to ask hard questions. The first is how do you preserve an expensive and limited stock of air defense missiles? The (relatively) low cost of the drones means that intercepting every single one at a cost comparable to the drone is often difficult. On the other hand, failing to intercept them can be even more costly. Ukraine’s successful drone strikes since the start of the war have destroyed millions of dollars’ worth of Russian equipment. The other question for defenders is how much air defense can be spared from the intense fighting at the front to protect targets in the rear? Stationing air defense away from the fighting makes it harder for a military to protect its troops from drones and aircraft.

Russian leaders are in the difficult position of trying to determine where air defense is most needed across thousands of miles of territory. The in-land attacks mean that citizens across the country—already feeling the strain of military recruitment drives and a war-time economy—are being confronted by the true cost of the war in a way that Putin had never imagined when he launched a Blitzkrieg assault on Ukraine two years ago.

Read more at The Daily Beast.