President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin place heavy emphasis on their image as protectors and guarantors of security for the Russian people. Ukrainian large-scale strikes directly discredit that image.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military conducted its largest drone attack against Russia since the start of the war.
The Ukrainian strikes came only days after the largest Russian missile and drone attack against Ukraine in 2025.
While negotiations for a tentative ceasefire continue, both sides remain committed to their causes.
Ukraine’s Drone Strikes Inside Russia
Last week, the Russian military launched dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as suicide drones against Ukraine. In response, the Ukrainian military launched hundreds of suicide drones against Russia on Tuesday morning.
“The strikes targeted several Russian regions including Moscow and locations in the vicinity,” the British Ministry of Defence assessed in a recent intelligence estimate on the war. “Fires have been reported in Moscow as well as a temporary halt in operations at all four Moscow airports, and the suspension of the railway connection between Moscow and Domodedovo.”
The Russian military claimed to have shot down more than 330 Ukrainian suicide drones, but the Kremlin acknowledged that at least 20 people were killed or wounded by the attack.
“The Ukrainian strikes are the latest in a pattern of increased regularity of Ukrainian UAS strikes deep into Russian territory, emphasising the challenge confronting Russia to protect its infrastructure and strategic assets balanced against protecting its operations at the front line,” the British Ministry of Defence added.
However, some recent developments are bound to hamstring Ukrainian missile and suicide drone strikes inside Russia. Earlier in March, the United States paused intelligence sharing and ceased providing targeting data to Ukraine for offensive operations. Although the U.S. restarted intelligence sharing with the Ukrainian military and also resumed security aid in response to Kyiv’s willingness to participate in peace talks, this instability makes effective precision strikes tougher.
The Drone Strikes Are a Personal Attack On Putin
Moreover, any strikes against targets within Russia undermine the credibility of the Russian air defense and, to some extent, the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin place heavy emphasis on their image as protectors and guarantors of security for the Russian people. Ukrainian large-scale strikes directly discredit that image.
“Putin and the Russian senior leadership almost certainly consider Ukraine’s ability to both target and cause disruption within Moscow to be a significant embarrassment. It also undermines the Russian leadership’s narrative of the conflict as a localised operation as opposed to a war,” the British Ministry of Defence concluded in its intelligence estimate.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, the Russian government and state-allied press have referred to the conflict as a “special military operation,” refusing to describe it as a war. The euphemism’s use is intentional to lessen the psychological impact of the fighting on the Russian people. After all, it is easier to “sell” a localized conflict than a large-scale war.
However, regardless of the terminology used, the war in Ukraine is the largest conflict on European soil since World War II—and the costs to the Russian people have been immense.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing inspecial operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured inBusiness Insider,Sandboxx, andSOFREP. Image: Shutterstock / Sergiy Palamarchuk.