Drone strikes deep in Russia expose vulnerabilities, as Moscow blames Ukraine
- The airbase attacks dealt a powerful psychological blow, suggesting that Kyiv’s forces can ‘operate in Russia at will’, one Western official says
- Moscow’s inability to stop drones flying so far inside its border ‘doesn’t bode well for its ability to stop a mass cruise missile strike’, an analyst says
Two days of drone attacks inside Russia’s border with Ukraine have exposed the vulnerability of some of Moscow’s most important military sites, observers said.
Ukrainian officials did not formally confirm carrying out drone strikes inside Russia, and they have maintained ambiguity over previous high-profile attacks.
But Britain’s defence ministry said Russia was likely to consider the attacks on Russian bases more than 500km (300 miles) from the border as “some of the most strategically significant failures of force protection since its invasion of Ukraine”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian authorities will “take the necessary measures” to enhance protection of key facilities. Russian bloggers who generally maintain contacts with officials in their country’s military criticised the lack of defensive measures.
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Ukraine warns of more emergency blackouts as Russia unleashes another missile barrage
A fire broke out at an airport in Russia’s southern Kursk region that borders Ukraine after a drone hit the facility, the region’s governor said on Tuesday. In a second incident, an industrial plant 80km (50 miles) from the Ukrainian border was also targeted by drones, which missed a fuel depot at the site, Russian independent media reported.