US, France Aid Ukraine in Mapping Russian Air Defenses for Deep Drone Strikes

The United States and France are providing Ukraine with intelligence to help map Russian air defenses and find routes for drone strikes targeting locations deep within Russia. Sources within Ukraine's military leadership shared this information with the Financial Times (FT).

According to Andri Zahorodnjuk, a former defense minister and head of the Kyiv-based Centre for Defence Strategies think tank, intelligence from the US and France has improved target selection. This assistance helps Ukraine's long-range drone units identify optimal strike locations.

“

The intelligence from the United States and France has also improved target selection and helped Ukraine's long-range drone groups learn where it is worth striking.

Ukraine has recently adjusted its long-range drone attack strategy. Instead of targeting large oil refineries, the focus has shifted to warehouses storing critical, hard-to-replace components. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently instructed Ukraine's newly appointed commander-in-chief and acting defense minister to expand strikes further into Russia.

“

The goal is clear: first, to destroy the sources that finance [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's war, i.e., the oil trade, and second, to destroy the military industry that supplies weapons to the occupying army.

Incoming Defense Minister Yevheni Hmara stated that he and the new commander-in-chief, Myhailo Drapatyi, plan to move the war as much as possible into the aggressor's territory. Hmara affirmed that Ukraine will continue to strike Russia and exert technological pressure through all available means.

Sources told the FT that target selection involves detailed technical analysis, considering logistics, flight paths, and operational objectives. Drone units receive specific instructions, with engineers and experts guiding them on which pipelines, chimneys, or spaces to strike. The objective is twofold: to destroy the sources funding Putin's war, specifically oil trade, and to dismantle the military industry supplying the occupying army. The entire European part of Russia, home to about 80 million people, is now within striking range and is no longer considered a safe rear area.

“

80 million people – about two-thirds of Russia's population – live in the European part of the country. The area is within striking distance and is no longer considered, nor will it be considered, Russia's safe rear.