During July, for the first time since the beginning of the criminal war unleashed by Russia, Ukraine surpassed Russia in the number of drone attacks.
Points of attention
- Ukraine surpassed Russia in the number of drone attacks in July, conducting 520 attacks compared to Russia's 426.
- Ukrainian drones target refineries, oil and gas storage facilities, and military bases on Russian territory, causing significant damage.
- The development of over 22 models of Ukrainian strike drones emphasizes simplicity, efficiency, and reduced production costs.
- The drone campaign creates a dilemma for the Russian military-political leadership, forcing them to protect strategic assets at the cost of vulnerability on the front lines.
- Ukraine's drone attacks aim to showcase the real consequences of the invasion, politically impacting Russia and highlighting the economic and military implications.
How Ukraine surpassed Russia in the use of attack drones
According to the publication's journalists, during July, the Ukrainian military carried out 520 attacks with the help of UAVs, while the criminal army of the Russian Federation released 426 UAVs of the "Shahed" type over Ukraine.
It is noted that the Ukrainian military uses UAVs more effectively and causes significant damage to Russian refineries and other strategic facilities.
The article emphasizes that Russia also releases about 120 missiles of various types every month in Ukraine, almost as many as it produces.
At the same time, the authors of the material emphasize that despite the devastating effect of Russian missile attacks on Ukraine, drones remain the key striking weapon of the Russian occupiers.
The vast majority of Iranian drones in Russia are produced by an enterprise in Elabuz, east of Moscow, under a license agreement.
The design of Iranian drones in the Russian-made version has undergone changes, but the key indicators of these UAVs have remained unchanged.
Usually, the criminal army of the Russian Federation attacks Ukraine with waves of Iranian drones, launching up to 30 BpLa at the same time.
The direction of their movement is caught by networks of thousands of microphones in Ukraine.
These drones shoot down Ukrainian mobile air defense groups and more powerful air defense systems with surface-to-air missiles.
Ukrainian air defense units are currently shooting down 90 to 100% of Shahed-type drones released by the Russian army.
How Ukraine responds to Russia's drone attacks
The publication notes that Ukraine produces a wide range of strike drones of various types.
According to HI Sutton analyst estimates, there are currently at least 22 different models of Ukrainian strike drones.
Most of them are designed with maximum simplicity, low cost, and efficiency of use in mind.
Over the past year, Ukraine has significantly increased the number of drone attacks on strategic objects on the territory of Russia.
Ukraine launched more than 524 strike drones in July, compared to fewer than 200 in each of the previous two months, according to Russian government officials. It seems that this is the first month when the Ukrainian overall indicator exceeded the Russian one, - the publication notes.
Attacks by Ukrainian drones, in contrast to the drone attacks of the criminal army of the Russian Federation, which target energy facilities, are aimed at refineries and oil and gas storage facilities.
Another class of targets for Ukrainian UAVs are military bases on the territory of the aggressor country.
In particular, Ukrainian UAVs recently attacked the Russian airfield "Olenya" at a distance of 1,800 km from the Ukrainian border.
The ability to strike objects with drones at such a long distance puts a large number of strategic objects on the territory of Russia at risk.
Ukraine claims that on July 27 it destroyed a Russian Su-30M at the Saka air base and damaged a Tu-22M bomber at the Olenya air base.
Note that for both types of targets, a small drone warhead can cause disproportionate damage. One Russian fighter jet destroyed could pay for the entire drone campaign several times over. Some of the larger drones can carry much larger warheads, albeit up to several hundred kg, keeping a greater range of targets under threat, the authors of the material emphasize.
In addition, Ukrainian UAVs attack electrical substations on the territory of Russia, which are cooled with flammable oil.
According to Mick Ryan, a senior researcher in military research at the Lowry Institute, however, one of the key goals of Ukrainian drone attacks on objects on the territory of Russia is to create a dilemma for the criminal military-political leadership of the aggressor country.
In particular, in the case of rebasing air defense assets from the front line to protect strategic air bases, the occupation army of the Russian Federation on the front in Ukraine will become very vulnerable.
Focusing on air bases means that vital oil storage facilities will burn at an increasing rate.
Changing protocols to allow troops to open fire more quickly could increase the already horrendous number of friendly fire incidents.
Ryan notes that beyond the economic and military implications, the drone campaign is a political weapon.
The rapid rise in gas prices and the burning of oil tanks explain to the Russians the real consequences of the invasion of Ukraine.
