The Telegraph: The AFU Is "strangling" Russian Forces On The Front Line With A New Strategy
- 14.03.2026, 13:12
Ukraine has chosen its path to victory.
Ukrainian UAV attacks are making it impossible for the Russians to quickly move personnel and equipment to support offensive operations.
Ukraine has refused to throw troops into battle to counter the relentless waves of Russian manpower, and has instead chosen a different path to victory - a carefully planned drone campaign. Now that strategy is beginning to bear fruit, writes The Telegraph.
It has been noted that Ukrainian UAVs are "strangling" Russian forward forces, tripling the so-called "kill zone" in some areas. The goal is simple: to make it impossible for Russian forces to move personnel and equipment fast enough to sustain offensive operations.
According to experts, Ukrainian drones are now capable of hitting targets up to 150 kilometers from the front line, up from about 50 kilometers a few weeks ago, expanding the kill zone to an unprecedented depth. The boundaries of that zone are fluid and zigzag depending on the positions of Ukraine's elite drone units.
"The drones are constantly tracking, constantly striking. It slows them down, breaks their rhythm and gives us space to control the battlefield without sending people to certain death," a soldier in one of Ukraine's unmanned systems battalions told The Telegraph.
According to Katerina Stepanenko, head of the Russian team at the Institute for the Study of War, Katerina Stepanenko, it takes time and a huge amount of planning, but the resulting campaign was a turning point in drone warfare on the battlefield.
Heavy Strike Drones
Ukraine has deployed heavy drone bombers to target key Russian systems, including electronic warfare systems, anti-aircraft installations and equipment that allow Russia to strike or intercept drones.
"Heavy drone bombers provide an advantage because they are able to pursue specialized targets. By disrupting and suppressing these Russian assets, Ukrainian forces are creating an environment where more drones can fly long distances without being intercepted or suppressed," Stepanenko said.
Destruction of Russian air defenses
The destruction of Russian air defense systems, including Buk, Tor and Pantsir-S1 models, has weakened Russian defenses and opened up airspace to an unprecedented number of light drones, which are most vulnerable to electronic warfare.
The lack of air defenses has also forced the Russians to rely on outdated equipment, soldiers on the front line told The Telegraph.
Dimko Zhluktenko, a soldier and analyst with Ukraine's 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment, said: "In some cases, Russian units have reportedly removed multi-barrel machine gun mounts from old Soviet attack helicopters ... and mounted them on homemade trucks with machine guns to counter drones."
The Ukrainian armed forces are not only expanding their kill zone with more drones, but are also using the opportunity to conduct a targeted campaign against Russian equipment and logistical hubs to make it more difficult for Moscow to move equipment closer to the front line, the article noted.
The goal is to force Russian troops to travel long distances on foot to reach their positions, ultimately weakening their ability to hold defensive lines.
"I think the results speak for themselves. Russia is losing a huge number of rare air defense systems, radars, and there is no way to replenish them quickly," Dmitry Zhluktenko said.