How cheap drones are transforming Ukraine’s war against Russia – The Globe and Mail

Oleksandr Kamyshin is in a good mood – or as good as can be expected for the man leading Ukraine’s tortuous industrial effort to narrow Russia’s formidable lead in weapons production.In the previous three days, Ukrainian-made drones scored two hits that put a smile on the Strategic Industries Minister’s face, as well as that of every other member of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s war cabinet.The first came some time after midnight on Feb. 1, when naval drones sank the Ivanovets, a Russian missile corvette, in the waters just off western Crimea. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, with characteristic wry understatement, said the small warship “suffered damage incompatible with further movement.”The second came three days later when two long-range suicide drones struck the largest oil refinery in southern Russia, in Volgograd. While the refinery, owned by Lukoil, appears not to have suffered significant damage, the attack once again showed that Ukraine is now capable of hitting targets deep inside Russia, opening a new phase of the war. Ukraine’s military commanders are fond of calling homegrown drones “our main export to Russia.”

Source: How cheap drones are transforming Ukraine’s war against Russia – The Globe and Mail