ISW warns of potential massive Russian strikes on Ukraine's West
Photo: Russia plans to intensify its aerial attacks (Getty Images)
Russia is actively expanding its network of launch sites for long-range strike drones. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukraine's West is likely to be one of Russia's targets.
The Telegraph recently reported that Russia had built 59 new drone launch pads at 10 different bases along its border with Ukraine and Belarus.
Each of these bases can accommodate more than 1,000 drones.
According to US analysts, Russia's latest actions may indicate preparations to intensify attacks on Ukraine.
It cannot be ruled out that these capabilities could also be used in the future to strike NATO countries.
The ISW also draws attention to the characteristics of the new launch structures. Approximately 20 of them are quite long, which may indicate that they are intended for launching the Geran-4 and Geran-5 jet drones.
The estimated flight ranges of these drones are as follows:
- Geran-4 – 450 to 850 km
- Geran-5 – from 950 to 1,000 km.
All of this gives Russia the ability to launch a significantly larger number of long-range drones during massive attacks.
Analysts suggest that Russia plans to strike targets in the western regions of Ukraine.
In addition, the drones' higher speed and greater survivability could complicate the work of Ukrainian air defense forces.
Moving launch sites further into Russian territory may serve another purpose—to protect the drone infrastructure from Ukrainian strikes.
The Ukrainian military has previously attacked Russian launch sites near occupied Donetsk, so establishing new sites at a greater distance could increase their survivability.
Moreover, Russia could integrate new launch sites with its Rassvet satellite constellation, which is considered the Russian equivalent of Starlink.
This would likely enable more precise strikes against Ukrainian air defense systems and other targets in the rear from various directions.
