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How Ukraine broke through Russia’s air defenses
Published
Jun 19, 2026
rinto.dev/r/how-ukraine-broke-through-russias-air-de-39607a
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Ukraine's drone swarm strategy and Russian air defense shortcomings allow successful breakthroughs, bringing the war to Russian cities.
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Ukraine's successful drone strategy
Ukraine uses large drone swarms and long-range attacks to overcome Russian air defenses.
Drone swarms overwhelm defenses
Ukraine's strategy of launching large drone swarms can overwhelm Russian air defense systems.
Systems not designed for drones
Russian air defense systems were not designed to combat drone attacks, targeting conventional aircraft and missiles instead.
Expert source on defense design
Thomas Withington stated Russian systems aren't designed for drones.
Moscow attack example
Thursday's attack on Moscow exemplifies Ukraine's strategy to overwhelm Russian air defenses successfully.
Schiller quote on system reliability
Markus Schiller noted Russia's old systems have a 'track record of old systems not being 100% reliable'.
Continuous improvement in attack capabilities
Ukraine has continuously improved its attack capabilities 'for years'.
Stepping up long-range attacks
Ukraine has been stepping up long-range attacks on Russian oil refineries and military sites since 2024.
Breakthroughs in St. Petersburg, Moscow
Ukraine recently broke through Russian defenses in St. Petersburg and repeatedly hit Moscow.
Forcing defense system dispersion
Kyiv's strategy targets many locations inside occupied Ukraine and Russia, forcing Russia to spread out air defense systems.
Targeting air defense launchers, radars
Kyiv has targeted air-defense launchers and radar detection systems for years to diminish Russia’s capabilities.
Destroyed anti-air elements
Ukraine's Armed Forces claim destruction of 166 Russian 'anti-air elements' this year and over 1,432 since 2022.
Russian air defense shortcomings
Russian air defenses suffer from design flaws, unreliability, dispersion, and resource issues against drone attacks.
Systems not fit for purpose
Russian air defenses are simply not fit for purpose against modern drone attacks.
Difficulty detecting, tracking drones
Russian systems are not equipped to detect, track, and engage drone attacks.
Withington on defense fitness
Thomas Withington stated Russia's air defenses are 'simply not fit for purpose'.
Sanctions hamper new system development
International sanctions have hampered Moscow’s ability to access technology for developing new anti-drone systems.
Withington on production ramp-up
Withington said ramping up production would still yield 'missile systems that aren’t even doing the job'.
Hasty and unprofessional response
The Russian response during Moscow drone attacks appeared chaotic, hasty, and unprofessional.
Videos show soldiers firing MANPADS
Videos from Moscow showed soldiers firing portable, shoulder-mounted air-defense systems from a busy highway.
Stu Ray assessment of response
Stu Ray called the response 'hasty, ad-hoc and frankly unprofessional'.
Russian missile hitting oil tank
A Russian defense missile likely missed its target and instead hit an oil storage tank on Moscow's outskirts.
Expert on 'Russian own-goal'
A weapons expert from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute called the missile incident 'a Russian own-goal'.
Difficulty tracking modern drones
Modern drones are more difficult to track on radar than larger missiles or aircraft.
Withington on 'quality track'
Withington noted the difference between detecting something on radar and getting a 'quality track'.
Lack of coordination for mass attacks
Hundreds of drones from multiple directions require massive coordination from integrated air defense systems, which is not happening properly.
Potential munition shortages
Repeated, mass long-range attacks by Ukraine could be leading to Russia running low on defense munitions.
Inventories wear down with frequent salvos
Inventories are bound to wear down if Ukraine’s salvos remain large and frequent.
Withington on 'least bad option'
Withington believes Russia's military considers 'what’s the least bad option' to counter Ukrainian attacks.
Russia claims many drones shot down
Experts say Russian air defenses likely shoot down a large percentage of Ukrainian drones.
Russian military claims 216 drones downed
On Friday morning, the Russian military claimed it downed 216 Ukrainian drones across the country.
Moscow's air defense assets
Moscow still had over 100 air defense launchers and 50 'Pantsir' mobile systems as of mid-May.
Some drones still penetrate mass attacks
With over 100 drones in a single attack, at least some are likely to make it past defenses.
Impact on Russia
Ukraine's drone attacks bring the war home to Russia, causing visible disruptions and bubbling discontent.
War brought home to Russian cities
Ukraine’s deadly strikes are bringing the war home to Russians, causing discontent to bubble up.
Kremlin scaled back Victory Day parade
The mounting drone threat forced the Kremlin to scale back its Victory Day parade in May, removing military hardware.
'Current operational situation' reason
The Russian Defense Ministry cited the 'current operational situation' for scaling back the parade.
Temporary ceasefire pushed
Moscow also pushed for a temporary ceasefire during the Victory Day festivities.
Main idea
Ukraine's strategy against Russian air defenses
Ukraine's drone swarm strategy and Russian air defense shortcomings allow successful breakthroughs, bringing the war to Russian cities.
Made with Rinto — analyse your own content free
Section
Ukraine's successful drone strategy
Ukraine uses large drone swarms and long-range attacks to overcome Russian air defenses.
Support
Drone swarms overwhelm defenses
Ukraine's strategy of launching large drone swarms can overwhelm Russian air defense systems.
Reason
Systems not designed for drones
Russian air defense systems were not designed to combat drone attacks, targeting conventional aircraft and missiles instead.
Data
Expert source on defense design
Thomas Withington stated Russian systems aren't designed for drones.
Evidence
Moscow attack example
Thursday's attack on Moscow exemplifies Ukraine's strategy to overwhelm Russian air defenses successfully.
Data
Schiller quote on system reliability
Markus Schiller noted Russia's old systems have a 'track record of old systems not being 100% reliable'.
Support
Continuous improvement in attack capabilities
Ukraine has continuously improved its attack capabilities 'for years'.
Support
Stepping up long-range attacks
Ukraine has been stepping up long-range attacks on Russian oil refineries and military sites since 2024.
Evidence
Breakthroughs in St. Petersburg, Moscow
Ukraine recently broke through Russian defenses in St. Petersburg and repeatedly hit Moscow.
Support
Forcing defense system dispersion
Kyiv's strategy targets many locations inside occupied Ukraine and Russia, forcing Russia to spread out air defense systems.
Support
Targeting air defense launchers, radars
Kyiv has targeted air-defense launchers and radar detection systems for years to diminish Russia’s capabilities.
Data
Destroyed anti-air elements
Ukraine's Armed Forces claim destruction of 166 Russian 'anti-air elements' this year and over 1,432 since 2022.
Section
Russian air defense shortcomings
Russian air defenses suffer from design flaws, unreliability, dispersion, and resource issues against drone attacks.
Support
Systems not fit for purpose
Russian air defenses are simply not fit for purpose against modern drone attacks.
Reason
Difficulty detecting, tracking drones
Russian systems are not equipped to detect, track, and engage drone attacks.
Data
Withington on defense fitness
Thomas Withington stated Russia's air defenses are 'simply not fit for purpose'.
Reason
Sanctions hamper new system development
International sanctions have hampered Moscow’s ability to access technology for developing new anti-drone systems.
Data
Withington on production ramp-up
Withington said ramping up production would still yield 'missile systems that aren’t even doing the job'.
Support
Hasty and unprofessional response
The Russian response during Moscow drone attacks appeared chaotic, hasty, and unprofessional.
Evidence
Videos show soldiers firing MANPADS
Videos from Moscow showed soldiers firing portable, shoulder-mounted air-defense systems from a busy highway.
Data
Stu Ray assessment of response
Stu Ray called the response 'hasty, ad-hoc and frankly unprofessional'.
Evidence
Russian missile hitting oil tank
A Russian defense missile likely missed its target and instead hit an oil storage tank on Moscow's outskirts.
Data
Expert on 'Russian own-goal'
A weapons expert from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute called the missile incident 'a Russian own-goal'.
Support
Difficulty tracking modern drones
Modern drones are more difficult to track on radar than larger missiles or aircraft.
Data
Withington on 'quality track'
Withington noted the difference between detecting something on radar and getting a 'quality track'.
Support
Lack of coordination for mass attacks
Hundreds of drones from multiple directions require massive coordination from integrated air defense systems, which is not happening properly.
Support
Potential munition shortages
Repeated, mass long-range attacks by Ukraine could be leading to Russia running low on defense munitions.
Reason
Inventories wear down with frequent salvos
Inventories are bound to wear down if Ukraine’s salvos remain large and frequent.
Data
Withington on 'least bad option'
Withington believes Russia's military considers 'what’s the least bad option' to counter Ukrainian attacks.
Counterpoint
Russia claims many drones shot down
Experts say Russian air defenses likely shoot down a large percentage of Ukrainian drones.
Data
Russian military claims 216 drones downed
On Friday morning, the Russian military claimed it downed 216 Ukrainian drones across the country.
Data
Moscow's air defense assets
Moscow still had over 100 air defense launchers and 50 'Pantsir' mobile systems as of mid-May.
Reason
Some drones still penetrate mass attacks
With over 100 drones in a single attack, at least some are likely to make it past defenses.
Section
Impact on Russia
Ukraine's drone attacks bring the war home to Russia, causing visible disruptions and bubbling discontent.
Support
War brought home to Russian cities
Ukraine’s deadly strikes are bringing the war home to Russians, causing discontent to bubble up.
Support
Kremlin scaled back Victory Day parade
The mounting drone threat forced the Kremlin to scale back its Victory Day parade in May, removing military hardware.
Reason
'Current operational situation' reason
The Russian Defense Ministry cited the 'current operational situation' for scaling back the parade.
Reason
Temporary ceasefire pushed
Moscow also pushed for a temporary ceasefire during the Victory Day festivities.
#ukraine-russia-war
#drone-warfare
#air-defense
#military-strategy
#russian-military
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