Ukraine has increased its frequency of drone attacks on Russia in recent weeks, a tactic American officials say is intended to demonstrate to the Ukrainian public that Kyiv can still strike back, especially as the counteroffensive against entrenched Russian troops moves slowly.
Over the past week, Ukrainian drones near Moscow forced the Kremlin to temporarily shut down airports serving the capital. And Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Ukraine had launched 42 drones at the occupied Crimean Peninsula and fired a missile that was intercepted not far from Moscow, in what could be one of the biggest known aerial assaults on Russian-held territory since the war began.
Throughout the summer, the intensifying strikes — many of which have been carried out with Ukrainian-made drones — have hit a building in central Moscow, an international airport and a supersonic bomber stationed south of St. Petersburg.