ASSESSMENTS

The Implications of Ukraine's Audacious Attacks on Russia

Jun 2, 2025 | 14:36 GMT

Service members of Ukraine's 13th Khartia Brigade load a Vampire drone with food and ammunition supplies to be delivered to the infantry at the frontline on March 7, 2025, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.
Service members of Ukraine's 13th Khartia Brigade load a Vampire drone with food and ammunition supplies to be delivered to the infantry at the frontline on March 7, 2025, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.

(Photo by Diego Fedele/Getty Images)

A series of Ukrainian attacks across Russia indicates a more brazen and frequent pace of asymmetric operations that could pressure the Kremlin to be flexible in ongoing talks but also risk blowback that at least temporarily derails diplomatic efforts to wind down the war in Ukraine. On June 1, Ukraine's main civilian intelligence agency, the SBU, carried out a major operation, reportedly a year-and-a-half in the making, in which it activated more than 100 quadcopter drones it had smuggled into Russian territory to reportedly hit 41 long-range strike aircraft at four airfields across the country. The attack came after Ukrainian media reported on May 30 that the country's military intelligence service, the HUR, allegedly triggered two explosions targeting a Russian military site near the eastern city of Vladivostok -- which would be the deepest inside Russia that Ukrainian saboteurs have attacked -- at a location often used for Russian military...

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