Ukraine claims that the drones are being dispatched from Russian territory. Experts doubt it.

On Friday evening, Ukrainian drones were said to have once again attempted to attack the important Crimean bridge. Earlier this week, a number of places in Russia were attacked by drones in the air. And there is more to come, according to Kiev.

• This week the Ukrainians sent attack drones against a number of targets inside Russia.
• On Friday evening and Saturday night, Russian media reported several water drones allegedly trying to attack the important Crimean bridge, which, according to Telegram channel shot It had to be closed.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the country should train one million drone specialists by 2030, reports said. Ria.
• Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Friday that there will be more drone strikes against Russia in the future.
• The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kirillo Budanov, said: Kyiv Post That they have secret operators that launch drones from Russian territory.
• On the other hand, President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted at this cable That there are Ukrainian long-range drones – they were sent from Ukrainian territory.

Geir Hagen Carlsen, lieutenant colonel and principal instructor at the Norwegian Defense Academy, strongly doubts that it is right to send Ukrainian drones from Russian territory.

One can imagine that Ukrainian special forces operate from Russian soil, but I don’t think that is realistic over such a long period and on such a large scale. It will be a risky sport.

– But because we can’t be 100 percent sure, this creates unrest and uncertainty among Russians. So, it can be psychologically wise, says Carlsen.

He explains the background to his opinion:

– Ukraine has drones with more than enough range – even to Pskov, which is 700 kilometers from the border.

– How did they manage it?

They had an extensive drone program where they were constantly developing new drones. Ukraine was very innovative throughout the war.

Geir Hågen Karlsen mentions two types in particular:

– I know of two types, one with a range of 800 km and can carry 20 kg of explosives, and the other with a range of 1,000 km, which is enough to eliminate all the targets attacked in the last week. It is also possible that they developed drones that we know nothing about. There is every reason to believe that Ukraine has the ability to carry out the attacks we are seeing now from its own territory.

It is also unlikely that Russian resistance groups could launch a large number of attack drones inside Russia without being captured – given the security regime the Russians have now, Geir Hagen-Carlsen believes.

– Sure, some small commercial drones are possible, but not to the extent we see now with such large drones.

Peter Viggo Jacobsen of the Danish Defense Academy also talks about the size and range of the drones:

The highlight is the size of the drones and how easy they are to hide and transport. If they can be in a truck, it can be done, he told VG.

– But he also confirms that it is technically possible to launch drones from Ukrainian territory.

What is the military significance of drone attacks? Geir Hagen Carlsen again:

This week, they destroyed four larger transport planes. Last fall they attacked airfields where the Russians had bombers, so they had to move those planes. This does not change the war itself, but there are long-term indirect effects. And if the Russians are required to maintain permanent air defenses in all airports, in weapons factories, and in all military depots within a thousand kilometers of Ukraine’s borders, this will affect air defenses in other places.

– In addition, you have a psychological impact. And this is what Ukraine is playing for: pitting the Russian people against Vladimir Putin in order to undermine their power and authority and show that they are less in control than they appear to be.

How does the Kremlin respond to this?

– They only have to deal with drone attacks. They have no choice. But it generally creates additional problems for war. Ukraine’s strategy is to destroy bridges, command centers and ammunition depots. In the long term, this could contribute to Russia’s defeat, says Geir Hagen Carlsen of the Norwegian Defense Academy.

Note: Ukrainian media claimed on Friday that the country used cardboard drones – which are difficult to detect on radar – when it attacked an airport in the Kursk region this week. They referred to sources in the SBU spy agency.