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Surprise drone attacks hint at how Ukraine is going after Russia's
missile 'chokepoints'

Surprise drone attacks hint at how Ukraine is going after Russia's
missile 'chokepoints'
233
Michael Peck
Wed, May 10, 2023 at 3:07 PM PDT·4 min read
Iskander missile
Russian troops with an Iskander missile at an event outside of Moscow in
June 2015.Reuters
While its military struggles on the ground in Ukraine, Russia has leaned heavily on aerial attacks.

Waves of Russian drones and missiles have taxed Ukraine's already
strained air-defense network.

In response, Ukraine appears to be targeting Russia's missile launchers
to interrupt their attacks.

As Russian missiles continue to pound Ukrainian cities, the Ukrainians
are using drones to target Russian missile launchers.

Ukraine has struck airbases inside Russia that service missile-armed
bombers. It has also hit bases on the Crimean Peninsula that support the
Black Sea Fleet and its missile-equipped warships.

Ukraine's strategy is spurred by desperation. While its air defenses
have been successful, they can't destroy every incoming cruise and
ballistic missile, let alone high-speed hypersonic weapons. Indeed, not
even Israel's vaunted Iron Dome, which Kyiv has requested, can destroy
more than a fraction of incoming rockets.

Compounding the problem is that Ukraine may be close to running out of anti-aircraft missiles and shells.

Russian missiles and shells in Kharkiv Ukraine
Remnants of Russian missiles and shells at a Ukrainian collection site
in Kharkiv in December.Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images Whether it's cruise missiles or ICBMs, it's much easier to destroy the missiles, their launchers, and their supply depots on the ground than it
is to intercept them in flight.

Attacking those launchers "is a more efficient way" to deal with the
problem, Dara Massicot, an expert on the Russian military at the RAND Corporation think-tank, said on an April episode of the Geopolitics
Decanted podcast.

Ukraine's strikes are hitting bases and hubs that may disrupt Russia's
ability to launch missiles, whether it be from bombers flying along the Russia-Ukraine border or from the ships of Russia's Black Sea Fleet,
which continue to launch Kalibr cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine.

The Black Sea Fleet has been reinforced by ships from Russia's Caspian Flotilla, which arrived through a canal connecting the seas.

Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, its warships from elsewhere,
such as the Northern Fleet, have been unable to enter the Black Sea due
to Turkey's invocation of the Montreux Convention, which bars warships
from transiting the Turkish Straits between the Mediterranean and Black
Seas.

Story continues

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