Will Russia launch mass strikes while Kellogg is in Kyiv? Expert forecast
Russia regularly attacks Ukraine with Shahed drones (Illustrative photo: defence-ua.com)
Russia is unlikely to carry out large-scale attacks on Ukraine for another 2–3 days, as it has depleted a significant number of its Shahed drones, aviation expert Valerii Romanenko said.
"Kyiv is tense, but resting — at least while US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg is in the city," the expert noted. "Isolated strikes in the region are still possible, but large-scale attacks are unlikely for the next 2–3 days."
He reminded that as of July 16, Russia had already launched around 4,000 drones at Ukraine since the beginning of the month. According to earlier reports from Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate, Russia is capable of producing up to 5,200 drones per month — including 2,700 Shahed drones and 2,500 decoys.
"Even if they ramp up production to 3,000, that still means 2,000 Shaheds over 14 days. In practice, they won't be able to launch more than 150 per day on average, and they'll be forced to take extended pauses," Romanenko explained.
Kellogg's visit to Kyiv
On Monday, July 14, US presidential special envoy Keith Kellogg arrived in Ukraine for a one-week visit. Since then, Russia has ceased its mass drone strikes on Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained this pause by saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to escalate tensions with the United States.
Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko had earlier told RBC-Ukraine that Russia could actually intensify its attacks during Kellogg's visit.
He recalled that back in 2022, Russia carried out strikes on Ukraine even during the visit of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
