Over the last few weeks, it appears Ukraine has broadened the targets of its drone strikes in Russia. Among the recent targets have been massive warehouses and facilities of the Wildberries retailer.
“Ukrainian drones have hit warehouses belonging to Russia’s biggest online retailer again, injuring 10 people, according to Russian media and the region’s governor,” BBC noted on July 22.
This is the latest strike. “Logistics hubs belonging to Wildberries in Krasnodar and Stavropol were struck during overnight strikes, forcing workers to be evacuated, the company’s owner said.”
Other facilities have been struck as well. Warehouses in Tambov and Elektrostal were also struck days ago. This is important and shows how Ukraine is systematically expanding the list of target types it is striking.
It comes during a shakeup at the top of Ukraine’s military. This has ramifications for the war effort. Ukraine is appearing to try to pick apart Russia’s economy systematically, targeting pieces of it bit-by-bit. This is like the proverb that says one eats an elephant, “one piece at a time.”
Warehouses in Russia targeted, drone proficiency increases
Ukrainian drones are targeting warehouses in Russia. Ukraine has become increasingly proficient in using tens of thousands of drones a week in its war with Russia. Some are small drones used on the front line. Some are used for deep strikes. In addition, Ukraine has been striking at dozens of Russian ships in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
Meanwhile, the US is increasingly interested in the drone war in Ukraine. America wants to learn the right lessons. The Wall Street Journal reported that “an American manufacturer will for the first time begin producing drone boats designed and battle-tested by Ukraine.”
RBC Ukraine noted that “the agreement was signed between Portland-based ReconCraft, which manufactures boats for special operations forces, and Ukraine’s Uforce, the developer of the Magura drones. The memorandum of understanding was signed last week at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington.”
It added that “the agreement is described as a partnership agreement, under which both companies will provide materials, equipment, and personnel. According to ReconCraft co-founder Joe Silkovski, the goal is to produce hundreds or even thousands of Magura drones annually at facilities in Oregon and South Carolina.”
“It’s not unfair to say that some American drone companies are worried that Ukrainian companies will wipe the floor with them because of better product," Ryan Evans, CEO and Founder of War on the Rocks, wrote on X/Twitter, after news broke about the Ukraine drone exports.
"I’ve heard some US companies were actively lobbying against exactly this.”
Meanwhile, there is other news on the Ukraine front. General Dan Caine, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that a Ukrainian F-16 had downed a Russian warplane. He said this during a hearing at the US Senate Appropriations Committee in Washington. “I’ll note that recently we had the first air-to-air kill where a Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian fighter,” Caine said, the website Defense Blog noted.
Ukraine was also reported to be replacing its commander-in-chief of the armed forces on July 21. The new leader is 42-year-old Mykhailo Drapatyi, who is known as a fighting general and supporter of tech innovation. He was well known for a decade for his prowess and became known for driving an armored vehicle through a barricade in 2014 in Mariupol.
Zelensky replaces commander-in-chief
President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed him to replace General Oleksandr Syrskyi. The appointment of the popular Drapatyi comes after Ukraine removed a popular Defense Minister named Mykhailo Fedorov. It’s unclear what this shakeup will mean for the drone war on Russian vessels at sea and on the Wildberries facilities.
What matters is that Russia is incurring increasing losses, and Moscow has no easy way out.
Russia likely welcomed the Israel-Hamas War and the US war on Iran as a way to distract from its Ukraine war. It hoped that US munitions would flow elsewhere. It believed it could “bleed Ukraine white,” as in the Battle of Verdun in World War I.
However, now the tables may be turning. Russia may be at risk of overstretch and weakening by a long war it can’t seem to resolve. The burning Wildberries is one example of how Moscow can’t seem to even control its own airspace.
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine warned the Senators on July 21 that the US needs to invest in the military. He quoted General George C. Marshall, who said on July 22, 1940, “for almost twenty years we had all of the time and almost none of the money; today we have all of the money and no time.”
With adversaries aligning, the US has many challenges on multiple fronts and domains. The character of war is changing, he said, noting how AI and drones are at the forefront. With a “low barrier to entry of affordable unmanned systems,” the threats are multiplying. Russia learned this the hard way. Caine was warning that the US needs to invest and learn quickly.