Russian Drone Attacks: Visual Overview of Ukraine War Developments

Russian Drone Attacks: Visual Overview of Ukraine War Developments

As Russia's military machine advances in eastern Ukraine, an offensive is being waged far beyond the front lines. Russia is increasing its nightly drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure. As production of these weapons increases rapidly, attacks are also intensifying.

Russia's strategy

Many of the drones deployed are not particularly fast or state-of-the-art, but their low price allows the Kremlin to launch over 700 drones in one night. The aim of this strategy is to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses and break civilian morale, experts said.

After Russia acquired Iranian Shahed attack drone designs, it built a large factory to produce thousands of the weapons per month. These evolving tactics are forcing Ukraine to retaliate with more expensive munitions and new solutions as cheaper defense methods become increasingly ineffective.

The development of drone technology

The rapid rise in drone attacks shows how warfare is increasingly relying on unmanned autonomous vehicles. Both Ukraine and Russia have improved their drone capabilities to make up for deficiencies in their air forces - a trend that does not apply to all Western powers. However, experts believe the US and its European NATO partners are actively working to improve drone and counter-drone operations to maintain an advantage in future conflicts.

"NATO is likely to use drones on a large scale. Not to the same extent as Russia and Ukraine, however, as we have massive air forces that we have invested in and can deliver a lot of power quickly - but as a complement to that," Robert Tollast, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told CNN.

The impact on civilians

The constant threat of drone attacks is frightening for many civilians. Bohdana Zhupanyna from Kiev was heavily pregnant when her family's apartment was destroyed by a Russian drone strike in July. “I'm trying to calm down because such stress in the ninth week of pregnancy is very dangerous,” said Zhupanyna, who has now given birth to her healthy child. "I lost a lot in this damn war. My father was killed by Russians, my apartment was destroyed by Russians, and my mother was almost killed by Russians."

As Russia uses long-range drones to attack Ukrainian cities hundreds of kilometers behind the front line, civilians in cities near Russian-controlled areas are reporting daily FPV drone strikes. Residents of the Kherson region reported that “no target appears to be safe,” as there are reports of FPV drone attacks on pedestrians, cars, buses and even ambulances.

The effectiveness of the attacks

Russian authorities have repeatedly denied targeting civilians, despite extensive evidence to the contrary. The hit rate of drones reaching their targets has doubled since April and is now almost 20%. However, according to Yasir Atalan, a data expert at CSIS, whether a single Shahed hits its target is irrelevant. What is crucial is the cumulative effect that this terrorist weapon has on the civilian population and increases the pressure on air defense.

“Russia’s tactics are aimed at maintaining constant pressure,” Atalan told CNN. “Their strategy is increasingly focused on this type of attrition.” Ukraine is also countering with FPV drones on the front lines and has attacked infrastructure and weapons facilities inside Russia with long-range drones.

The race for technological superiority

"For any technological development, both sides are already looking for countermeasures. The innovation cycle is so fast that within two to three weeks we already see a counter-adaptation to a technological breakthrough," said Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russia analyst at the Institute for War Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

Now both Ukraine and Russia are working on developing AI-controlled drones that can make decisions on their own in combat, as well as interceptor drones that could be used as a cheaper method of defending against air attacks, according to the ISW.

“There are numerous reports that the Ukrainians are testing some of these drones, but we have not yet seen them in use on a large scale,” Stepanenko said. “The development of interceptor drones would expand Ukrainian capabilities and help the Ukrainian armed forces save some of their air defense missiles for missile attacks.”

In summary, the situation in Ukraine shows how warfare is changing and technologies are evolving as both sides compete for superiority in a rapidly changing conflict.