The unusual attack of Ukraine destroys the global military strategy of Russia. Putin will not replace these machines quickly
The impact was possible thanks to 117 drones hidden in wooden sheds on trucks. They were moved deep into the federation, and then fired almost simultaneously in three time zones. The surgery about the crypt who “Spiderweb” was directly approved by the President Wołodymyr Zelnski, which the head of SBU General Wasył Maluk described as “inevitable payment” for the night raids of Russian aviation to the cities of Ukraine.
The type of hit aircraft is of key importance. Tupolewy – constructions from the 1950s and 1970s – are the only Russian bombers able to transfer large loads to intercontinental distances. Moscow stopped producing them, and the newer Su-34 or Tu-160M cannot take such a volume of maneuvering rockets or patrol the Arctic for weeks.
The loss of about one third of the whole fleet (Ukrainian sources speak of 34 percent) means permanent Depressing the Russian aviation nuclear triad component.
The Russian conventional doctrine is also to feel the effects. To avoid subsequent rallies, the Kremlin dispersed the rest of the bombers even further – at the cost of longer combat flights, easier to track them by Western intelligence and greater consumption of the fleet that cannot be renewed. At the same time, Russia must now protect not only the front, but thousands of kilometers of its own territory. Before the war, it seemed that multi -layered air defense covered the whole country. In practice, she lacked where Ukrainian drones with a small radar signature appeared.
Drones are increasingly important weapons
Kiev's success also undermines the image of Vladimir Putin as a guarantee of strategic security. Public humiliation – burning Tupolewy is a symbol of power from the time of the USSR – it can result in purge in service and further strengthening of internal control.
Western analysts, on which the Wall Street Journal cites, remind you that in the history of the Kremlin Similar mishaps led to a feverish search for guilty and to screw the screw to society.
On the international arena, the attack reduces Russia's ability to deter NATO countries and USA. If Moscow barely rebuilds the bomb fleet, and its jacket and rocket forces have their own modernization problems, the strategic balance in Europe begins to tilt.
It is not surprising that European capitals – from Warsaw to London – they are not about the peaceful freezing of the conflict, but about enhanced the technological advantage of Ukraine and accelerating work on anti -done shields and new types of long -range ammunition.
Ultimately The Night Drone Rally is more than the spectacular destruction of aircraft on the airport plate. It is a demonstration that even the depth of Russian territory is no longer safe, and the strategy of relying on aging platforms and extensive spaces ceases to operate in the era of cheap, precise drones.
Thus, a new security architecture appears: Russia must defend not only boundaries, but for every runway, fuel warehouse and radar in Siberia, and Ukraine can move the burden of war from the front line to the territory of the aggressor, forcing it to constantly react instead of initiative.
