Massive drone attack paralyzes parts of Moscow • “Demonstration of strength in light of what the Trump administration said”
A massive Ukrainian drone attack paralyzed parts of Moscow on Sunday and forced the city’s airports to close temporarily. Former lieutenant colonel Jörgen Elfving believes that the war and the attack are becoming more tangible for the Russian population.
– There is a signaling effect in this, that is, that Ukraine has the ability to hit targets deep in Russia, he says.
Ukraine carried out a major drone attack on the Russian capital. About 30 were shot down on Sunday, according to the Russian military, but the drones caused a lot of chaos in Moscow. Among other things, the airports Domodedovo, Sheremetevo and Zhukovo had to temporarily shut down traffic.
Former lieutenant colonel Jörgen Elfving believes that the purpose is above all to direct the attention of ordinary Russians to the war and that it is one of the largest attacks that have been directed at the Moscow area so far.
– All attacks directed at Moscow mean that the war becomes more tangible for the Russians in general. It is likely that the concerns of the civilian population and the like are increasing. We can draw parallels with the Ukrainian drone attacks against the airbase in the Murmask area. After that, the residents of the area expressed that they were worried and what the consequences would be, it is probably similar in the Moscow area, he says.
Wants to overstretch the Russian air defense
The Russian Defense Ministry says 34 drones have been shot down in the Moscow area and that Russia in turn fired 145 drones at targets in Ukraine, according to the country’s military. It is the largest attack since the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022.
– Here they want to spread the graces from the Ukrainian side and attack as many targets as possible to overexert the Russian air defense. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the attacks in the Bryansk area were directed at an ammunition depot
and there they have apparently had success, says Jörgen Elfving.
Can hit goals deep in Russia
Jörgen Elfving believes that there is a signal effect in the Ukrainian drone attacks and that it is a demonstration of strength.
– Ukraine has the ability to strike targets deep in Russia and at the same time this can be seen as a demonstration of strength against the background of what the Trump administration, which is now entering, has said about Ukraine. And at the same time, it could also be that by showing that you have the ability to strike targets in depth, it could be an attempt to put pressure on the Biden administration to give permission to use Western military equipment against targets in Russian depth, says he.
In what way is this a show of force on the part of Ukraine?
– That’s the number of drones they deployed, 70 drones, that’s a significant number and also that they’ve attacked a number of different targets.