US and France help Ukraine chart routes around Russian air defence - FT
Photo: Ukrainian service member with a drone (facebook.com/SecurSerUkraine)
Ukrainian drones are increasingly striking critical targets inside Russia with greater effectiveness, thanks to new tactics and support from Western partners, according to the Financial Times.
According to the report, whereas earlier campaigns focused on large-scale attacks against oil refineries, Ukrainian forces are now concentrating on striking the most critical components without which facilities cannot operate effectively. The strategy is designed not only to inflict damage but also to make repairs as difficult and costly for Russia as possible.
Sources interviewed by the Financial Times, including Ukrainian military personnel, drone operators and energy experts, said every operation is carefully planned. Before each mission, drone operators receive guidance from engineers on the most vulnerable parts of targeted facilities and are also provided with backup targets in case the primary objective becomes inaccessible due to air defences or other factors.
According to the operators, drones are increasingly returning to strike facilities that have already been damaged before repairs can be completed. The tactic is intended to prevent Russian enterprises from quickly restoring production.
Role of the US and France
Ukrainian officials said intelligence provided by the US and France has played a key role in the campaign. The intelligence helped Ukraine map the locations of Russian air defence systems and identify routes that allow drones to evade them and reach targets deep inside Russia.
Western intelligence has also improved Ukraine's target selection process. According to Andrii Zahorodnyuk, head of the Centre for Defense Strategies and a former Ukrainian defense minister, Ukrainian planners developed a detailed map of Russia's energy grid. This enabled them to identify critical nodes whose destruction could cause widespread disruptions, as well as equipment that is the most difficult to replace.
Campaign's main objective
Commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces Robert Brovdi said the campaign also relies on the systematic destruction of Russian air defense systems, radar installations and electronic warfare assets, creating corridors for strike drones.
According to Brovdi, the primary objective of the campaign remains cutting off the sources that finance Russia's war and weakening its military-industrial complex.
"The objective is clear: to destroy the sources financing Putin's war and the military-industrial complex that supplies weapons to the occupying army," Brovdi said.
He also stressed that Ukrainian forces have no intention of reducing the intensity of their long-range strikes inside Russia.
Ukraine continues to expand the capabilities of its long-range drones.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the maximum range of Ukrainian drones is expected to increase to 4,000 kilometres later this year and to between 5,000 and 10,000 kilometres next year.
According to Zelenskyy, this will mark a new stage in the development of Ukraine's drone program.
