Ukraine aims to raise the cost of Russia’s war, colonel says

Russia’s combat capability is unlikely to be significantly weakened by recent attacks on Yandex data centres and oil infrastructure, but Ukraine is seeking to make the war as costly as possible for Moscow, Air Force Chief of Staff Colonel Fredi Karu told ERR’s programme “Ukraine Studio”.

Karu also described a series of Russian air attacks that caused dozens of civilian casualties and injuries, including several children killed while they slept. He said the attacks were part of Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians, intended to break Ukrainians’ will to resist. Recent surveys suggest the effect has been the opposite, he said, adding that Ukrainians are more united than ever.

Russia is using almost every weapon at its disposal, Karu said, including ballistic and cruise missiles, glide bombs and drones. Russian attacks have targeted military facilities, defence industry sites and power plants. Bridges in Kyiv have also been attacked in recent days.

Karu said some missiles, drones and bombs have hit residential buildings even when there was no apparent military target nearby. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also confirmed strikes on defence industry facilities, he said.

The composition of Russia’s attacks varies from day to day. While slower drones with internal combustion engines previously made up a larger share, Russia has recently put more emphasis on faster jet-powered drones. They now account for about 40 percent of the weapons used, Karu said. Ukrainians expect Russia to increase production, potentially raising that share to 80 percent.

Ukraine has acknowledged that it was slow to respond when Russia began using jet-powered drones, Karu said. It has since developed its capabilities and now estimates that it can shoot down almost every second such drone. Ukraine hopes to raise that rate to about 80 percent in the near future.

Ukraine remains heavily dependent on the number of Patriot missiles it has to intercept ballistic missiles, Karu said. The country has stopped disclosing how many Russian ballistic missiles are launched or what proportion it shoots down. Ukraine needs more interceptor missiles, he added.