Ukrainian forces need more than just US-made HIMARS rockets to blunt the increasing rate of Russian artillery fire, according to three war experts. Michael Kofman and Dara Massicot from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Rob Lee from the Foreign Policy Research Institute wrote in a commentary that Kyiv could no longer rely on US-supplied weapons because Moscow has adopted an effective strategy against them. The invaders have reportedly moved their high-value assets like ammunition depots out of HIMARS’ range, making the highly-revered weapon less effective. With these adjustments, the three experts suggest the extensive use of drones and other precision strike capabilities to counter the high volume of Russian artillery fire. They also said Ukraine’s Western military backers should brainstorm other effective ways to blunt Russia’s increasing attacks. “Since Ukraine was unable to overcome Russia’s defenses last summer with a quantitative advantage with artillery ammunition, the prospects for future offensives will be worse unless Ukraine and its supporters can compensate by developing other advantages,” the experts wrote.
Just as the suggestion about utilizing drones against Russia surfaced, The Guardian published an article about Ukraine striking deep into Russia’s territory with kamikaze drones. This so-called “smart warfare” has reportedly damaged the enemy’s oil and gas supply lines, including the Tuapse oil refinery in southern Russia. According to Illia Ponomarenko, a former defense reporter for the Kyiv Independent, striking assets that are crucial to Russia’s economy could cripple its financial system and affect the military’s budget. The use of drones to strike deep into Russia also means Ukraine is acknowledging that Moscow’s military might is greater than Kyiv, and that it is finding ways to discover an advantage.
