The unprecedented 40-day drone bombing campaign launched by Ukraine in an attempt to force the Kremlin to accept peace negotiations has not led to a ceasefire, but has caused serious damage to Russian military logistics.
For over a month, Ukrainian explosive-laden drones have targeted bases, depots, ships, and supply routes, affecting Russian logistics. Hundreds of drones have aimed at connections to Crimea and fuel distribution networks, causing disruptions, shortages, and costly damages, as stated in an analysis published by Kyiv Post.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on June 25 that the armed forces of his country had initiated a 40-day campaign targeting Kremlin's military supply operations – both on land, in the territories occupied by Russia in southern Ukraine, and at sea, in the Sea of Azov and the northern part of the Black Sea.
The main objective of these offensive missions was to make it impossible for Russian military operations to continue in southern Ukraine and to compel Vladimir Putin to engage in discussions regarding a ceasefire, he stated.
Ukraine's attempt to force Russia to come to the negotiation table in less than six weeks had visibly failed by the end of July, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declaring that Ukrainian attacks were insignificant and that Kremlin's war objectives remained unchanged.
However, on the day Peskov made these statements, according to official Russian sources, nearly 400 long-range Ukrainian drones entered Russian airspace to target mainly in the Crimea region and southeastern Ukraine, under Russian occupation.
A second airstrike hit and set fire to a super logistical depot near Podolsk, a satellite city of Moscow, less than 32 kilometers from the Kremlin, the place where Peskov's defiant statements had been recorded.
"Russia's 'Amazon' 'Chopped' with Drones"
On August 4, exactly 40 days since the start of hostilities, the Ukrainian campaign of bombings and deep strikes into enemy territory was still in full swing.
Perhaps the most telling indicator was the announcement by the Russian Ministry of Defense, stating that air defense forces had detected and intercepted 1,158 Ukrainian army drones that had entered Russian airspace. This not only represented the most extensive drone raid conducted in a single night by either side in the entire Russo-Ukrainian war, but also in all of history, as noted by the cited publication.
The targets hit that night were:
- two oil refineries;
- a super-depot operated by Wildberries (a company similar to Amazon);
- a strategic bomber base in the Volga region;
- a fuel depot in the Kaluga region;
- four Russian sites for storing and launching kamikaze drones.
Over 450 drones participated in the raids the following night.
Thanks to hundreds of videos recorded and uploaded to the internet by small-scale Russian traders – witnessing drones crashing and exploding, hitting Wildberries depots – the attacks on Russia's logistical infrastructure have arguably become the most well-documented aspect of the Ukrainian effort to undermine Russian public support for Putin, the source emphasized.
By Wednesday, at least 14 large Wildberries depots had been hit, and in about half of the cases, the depot had been destroyed by fire. The Russian business press estimated the corporation's losses at $2 billion to date.
In a statement recorded on August 1, Tatiana Kim, CEO of Wildberries, stated that the owners whose stored stocks were destroyed by fire "will be compensated" – without specifying deadlines or amounts – and claimed that her company was taking effective measures to counter Ukrainian attacks. "Together we will prevail," Kim conveyed to customers.
Two more depots were hit after she made this promise; the most recent incident occurred on Wednesday when drones penetrated about 300 kilometers into the airspace above the Russian Tula region. By the afternoon of the publication of this article, the fire had already engulfed the complex, and firefighters seemed unable to contain it.
On August 2, Wildberries banned traders from entering depots with smartphones, citing "security reasons." Video recordings of the recent fire in Tula seemed to have been made from outside the depot gate.
Military Objectives of the Campaign
According to the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine), the national intelligence agency playing a key role in this 40-day campaign, its agents and operators have carried out hundreds of attack missions, hitting over 1,700 priority targets.
Military installations were the main priority, according to SBU's Tuesday assessment, with drones striking the Russian military air bases Sakii, Hvardiiske, and Belbek in Crimea. A drone attack on the Sakii base on July 1 caught on the ground two Russian MiG-29 fighter jets and two jet trainer aircraft, destroying them. Telegram channels of pro-Russian military bloggers, SBU video recordings, and later satellite images confirmed the likely severe damage to all these aircraft.
A precision long-distance strike on the Russian Samara region – the exact date of which was not disclosed but likely occurred towards the end of July – hit a Tu-95M "Bear" bomber stationed on the airfield platform; a single Ukrainian drone, valued at $75,000, hit and destroyed the tail of the turbopropeller aircraft, estimated to be worth between $5 and $10 million (at prices from a few decades ago).
Satellite images, made public on August 1, showed the stabilizers and tail torn off the fuselage, with the aircraft completely destroyed. Hangars and fuel supply infrastructure were also hit.
"Phantom Fleet" Ablaze
In parallel with the long-distance attack campaign against strategic targets coordinated by the SBU, Ukraine mobilized its drone forces under the army's command, known as the USF (Unmanned Systems Forces), throughout the 40-day operation against targets located at shorter distances, usually 30–150 kilometers behind the front line.
According to USF statements, starting from the end of June, operators and drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) conducted an operation on three fronts, targeting Russian logistics supporting the occupation forces in the Crimean Peninsula, both on land and at sea.
The main targets of the Ukrainian aircraft were tankers, giving maximum priority to ships suspected to be part of the Kremlin's "phantom fleet," but cargo ships were also hit, usually near the strategic crossing point of the Kerch Strait, connecting the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
In the last 40 days, according to sources in the maritime transport industry, between 100 and 150 civilian vessels – typically sailing under the flags of third countries – were hit by Ukrainian drones patrolling the waters around the strait.
Ukrainian naval drones – remotely controlled motor boats capable of carrying up to a ton of explosives – sank a government-operated Russian container ship on the night of July 31 to August 1. Satellite images released on Saturday showed at least 20 tankers sailing on the Don River to the river port of Rostov, likely seeking shelter under the city's anti-aircraft defense systems.
Images provided by the global maritime traffic monitoring platform MarineTraffic indicated a total absence of civilian vessels on either side of the Kerch Strait. According to Ukrainian military intelligence services, of the five ferries that usually operate between mainland Russia and Crimea, three are severely damaged and non-functional, while the other two can only move with the help of tugs.
Tankers and Trucks Precisely Hit
The second component of the offensive operation against Crimea – targeting freight truck convoys traveling from southwest Russia to the peninsula, passing through the occupied areas of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Zaporizhia – marked the first extensive use of cheap, medium-range drones in this war. Tanker trucks were the primary target, followed by Russian ground force convoys.
The number of vehicles hit since the end of June is estimated between 500 and 1,500 heavy trucks. The tally includes at least three attacks on truck parking lots, resulting in the simultaneous ignition of over 30 vehicles. Kyiv Post noted that it could not independently confirm these circulated figures.
Russian logistics officials reacted by redirecting the transport of goods onto secondary roads, concealing fuel tankers in trucks carrying food products, and offering drivers bonuses of up to 300% to take on the risk of traveling the Mariupol-Crimea route. Almost immediately, shortages of food and imported fuel in Crimea were reported, and authorities announced fuel rationing at the beginning of July.
Crimea, engulfed in darkness
The third and final category of targets aimed at by the Ukrainian Special Forces (USF) - the electrical network of Crimea - was the last to face intense attacks; massive attacks on transformer stations began at the beginning of July and have continued almost daily since. In the most severely affected regions of Crimea, by the end of July, electricity supply had been interrupted for up to thirteen days, and the entire peninsula was subject to scheduled power outages.
Media controlled by the occupiers in Crimea, and even the state-owned Russian media (Rossiya 1, Tuesday), reported that Crimean residents show courage and are convinced that power outages and drone attacks are temporary. In a statement on Thursday, the Ukrainian Special Forces stated that attacks on Crimea will continue "until the Russians leave".
Hundreds of targets have been hit during this campaign of concentrated attacks. However, one key target has not yet been achieved: compelling Putin to come to the negotiating table.
T.D.