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Why don't the Russians have a safe rear area far from the front lines anymore?
Ukrainian medium-range strike drones have begun a "free hunt" on Russian supply routes hundreds of kilometers from the front line, complicating the enemy's logistics, reports Business Insider.
A new phase of the drone war
Ukrainian medium-range strike drones have ushered in a new phase of the war. They are making Russian supply routes vulnerable—routes the occupiers had long considered safe.
Thanks to new technologies, operators can strike military targets hundreds of kilometers from the front line. This significantly complicates the logistics of the Russian forces.
Former drone operator and now combat experience analyst with the 413th RAID Unmanned Systems Regiment, Dmytro Zhluktenko (callsign "Liber"), told the media that Ukrainian operators can equip a drone with a Starlink terminal.
This gives the aircraft internet access and allows it to reach critically important highways, where the "free hunt" begins. According to him, operators are creating chaos up to 100 kilometers behind enemy lines.
"Those highways are so loaded with military logistics that it would be very hard not to find targets," Zhluktenko said, adding that it is "not a 100% kill zone," but being there is already associated with high risk.
What drones strike at different distances from the front
The journalists emphasized that Ukrainian drones have become one of the key factors in the country's survival in the war against Russia.
・Short-range FPV drones strike Russian troops, supplies, and equipment near the front line.
・Long-range drones attack oil facilities, air bases, and military targets deep inside Russian territory.
"New mid-range strike drones are filling the gap between those two highly effective campaigns,targeting areas roughly 20 to 300 kilometers from the front," the publication wrote.
Within this zone, Ukraine can attack Russian warehouses, vehicles, transport hubs, and command posts. This disrupts supplies to the Russian frontline units. The Ukrainian side says the use of such drones is expanding rapidly and remains one of its top priorities.
Russia lacks strong defenses in the middle zone
According to Zhluktenko, Russia does not have a strong defense system in this middle zone. The reason is partly that the Russians cannot redeploy a significant number of defensive assets there from other directions, where Ukraine is already keeping them under constant pressure.
Western military analysts say Ukraine's drone attack campaigns have already significantly depleted Russia's air defense system. The Russian command has to decide which areas to protect first, and opening new directions for strikes only deepens this problem.
Zhluktenko noted that even if Russia deploys large numbers of interceptor drones to destroy other drones, protecting such a vast territory would require a lot of resources.
"So it's a win-win anyway. So we are just widening the danger zone for them," the analyst said.
Ukrainian officials say the new medium-range strike drones are opening up areas of the Russian rear that were previously considered safe for attacks. This creates new opportunities for Ukraine and increases pressure on the Russian army.
Capabilities of Ukrainian drones
In recent weeks, Ukrainian units have continued expanding the capabilities of unmanned systems across various sectors.
On July 20, Ukrainian marines used FPV drones launched from Barracuda uncrewed surface vessels for the first timeto strike Russian positions near Zaliznyi Port in the Kherson region.
During the mission, one of the vessels was destroyed by the Russians using four Lancet loitering munitions. However, the remaining vessels successfully reached the drone launch point and struck enemy logistics, equipment, and manpower.
The same day, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense announced the testing of a new class of Firefly guided munitions, which are dropped from bomber drones from altitudes of up to 800 meters.
The munition independently adjusts its flight path toward the target and maintains accuracy even under enemy electronic warfare interference.
