Ukraine takes the war to Moscow: what kyiv is looking for with the largest drone attack against Russia

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrainian forces attacked several Russian defense industrial plants and oil infrastructure in the city and oblast of Moscow. Besides, The drones also hit several residential buildings in the Russian capital region.

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The attack came less than 72 hours after a massive Russian bombing of kyiv killed 24 people in an apartment block.

For the ISW, Ukrainian drone attacks showed that Russia remains unable to effectively defend the Russian capitala weakness that generated considerable frustration in Russian ultranationalist news outlets.

For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry said it intercepted 556 Ukrainian drones. Some drone fragments fell on the grounds of the Moscow Sheremetyevo Airportthe busiest in Russia, but no injuries or damage were reported.

The state news agency TASS published images of a house engulfed in a fireball and several damaged apartment blocks.

The drones manufactured by Ukraine

Ukraine is carrying out long-distance attacks thanks to the accelerated development of self-made drones. This has given kyiv the ability to strike practically throughout the European Russiaa region where more than 100 million people live, according to a report from the EFE agency.

He General Staff of Ukraine has revealed that in his attacks he uses drones Bars RS-1, Fire Point FP-1 and Bars-SM Gladiator. All are developed by Ukrainian engineers within a military innovation program that could grow even further with Western support.

But how does Ukraine manage to penetrate Russian defenses? The EFE report indicated that kyiv achieves its objectives thanks to the obtaining intelligence on weak points of the Russian system, to the planning flight routes to avoid defensesto your systematic campaign to destroy Russian radars and anti-aircraft systemsand at wear and tear of Russian air defense near the front.

According to military analysts cited by EFE, Russia has lost so many defensive systems near the battlefield that it has been forced to move equipment from the rearleaving internal areas more exposed.

Ukraine’s strategic message

For the international analyst Francesco Tucciprofessor of Political Science and International Relations at the UPC, the massive drone attack reflects an evolution that had already been developing since the beginning of the conflict in 2022: a war where technology and unconventional systems begin to gain prominence against traditional military power.

Tucci holds The Commerce that The conflict between Russia and Ukraine had already shown signs of a transition towards a war more supported by drones and asymmetric systems.

He emphasizes that This type of operations demonstrates that modern wars no longer depend exclusively on the classic superiority of armies and their powerful equipment. The ability to develop cheaper, more mobile and difficult-to-neutralize platforms is beginning to modify the rules of combat.

Also remember that Ukraine has built its own drone industry in recent years which, although it does not necessarily have the most sophisticated models in the world, has developed systems that it considers highly effective for the needs of the conflict.

“This industrial capacity explains why attacks of this nature are no longer completely unexpected.””, indicates.

For Tucci, the launch of hundreds of drones over the region of Moscow It should also be read as a political signal.

In a context where part of international attention has shifted to other crises, such as the conflict in Iran, Ukraine would seek to send a message to both Moscow and Washington: maintain the idea that it is still capable of sustaining war and hitting sensitive targets.

“The message would be: we are still here and we are still capable of hitting,” summarizes the analyst.

Tucci believes that this transformation does not only involve Ukraine. Russia would also be modifying its operational methods to respond to new combat conditions.

He points out that, after the losses suffered in armored material, Russian forces have introduced tactical changes to increase mobility and reduce vulnerabilities.

In his opinion, Both sides go through a continuous process of adaptation where each innovation generates a response from the adversary.

He even mentions that other powers observe this phenomenon and begin to incorporate learnings derived from the conflict, which could accelerate broader changes in global military doctrine.

Andrés Gómez de la Torrea specialist in defense and intelligence issues, agrees that what happened marks a possible change in kyiv’s military strategy. He considers that the true meaning of the operation goes beyond the immediate military balance.

As he explained, the novelty lies in the fact that Moscow, located about 400 kilometers from the border with Ukrainehad not been a frequent target during the war. The attack sought to send a political and strategic message: to demonstrate that even the center of Russian power can be exposed, he says.

“The objective is to eliminate this perception of invulnerability of Moscow and, in broader terms, of Russia”maintains Gómez de la Torre to The Commerce.

The intention, he explains, is to progressively move the pressure field towards the enemy rearguard. and demonstrate the ability to penetrate ever deeper into Russian territory.

Gómez de la Torre also points out that the selected objectives do not respond solely to traditional military logic. Among the targets attacked are oil refineries, pumping facilities, semiconductor industries and technology parks.

The purpose, he explains, would be to affect key sectors for the Russian economic and technological functioning, including those that indirectly contribute to the defensive capacity and the sustenance of the war.

The strategy seeks, therefore, to generate a broader effect than direct damage on military objectives, hitting production chains and industrial capacities considered strategic.

The limitations of anti-aircraft systems

One of the aspects that Tucci highlights is that Drone attacks also expose vulnerabilities in Russian defense systems originally designed for other types of threats.

As he explains, systems such as S-300 and S-400 They were primarily designed to detect and intercept fighter aircraft or missiles, but They now face greater difficulties when it comes to numerous and smaller drones.

Tucci considers that a massive attack can also have a propaganda component by publicly evidencing these limitations.

However, maintains that this problem would not be exclusive to Russia. Remember that other systems considered highly effective have also faced difficulties in neutralizing multiple attacks or new air threats, as in the case of Israel in the war against Iran.

The psychological impact of hitting near Moscow

Beyond the strictly military effects, Tucci believes that The increasingly deeper attacks on Russian territory can have a relevant political and psychological impactsince they bring the feeling of vulnerability to spaces that until recently seemed relatively far from war.

For the analyst, behind this offensive there are different simultaneous readings – military, political and propaganda – but they all converge on a common objective: reinforce the perception that Ukraine maintains a capacity for resistance.

Gómez de la Torre indicates that the psychological effect generated by this type of operations is also a central element. “Low-cost drones have changed the dynamics of conflict by allowing constant, long-range attacks with relatively little investment,” precise.

Add that The attacks have a strong symbolic, psychological and propaganda component, since they convey the feeling of vulnerability to a Russian population that for much of the war had remained relatively far from the direct effects of the conflict.