Russia launched a massive drone strike: why the air defense was less effective.

According to ТСН: On the morning of December 23, Russia carried out a large-scale combined strike on Ukraine, using strike drones and various missiles. As a result of this attack, the energy infrastructure in the western and central regions was damaged, and there were casualties among civilians. In response, emergency power outages were implemented.

Military expert Oleg Zhdanov commented on this attack, noting that the Russian army launched over 650 drones, most of which were 'Geran'.

Missile strike on Ukraine

'They exhausted our air defense (AD) all night. And only at night did they send up the aviation, and somewhere around dawn missiles began to appear in our airspace. This was probably done to exhaust our AD system as much as possible,' the expert explained.

According to Zhdanov, the Ukrainian surface-to-air missile systems had to fight against drones, which is a costly step due to limited resources. When AD is exhausted, missiles lose their effectiveness.

Features of the massive strike

Oleg Zhdanov also noted that no ballistic missiles were used during the attack, which, in his opinion, may be saved for future operations. 'They divided the strikes, and the next one could happen already on Christmas. They have enough Shaheeds, and they can form a new strike, adding ballistic missiles. This will be a full-scale combined strike on Ukrainian infrastructure,' the expert says.

Next attacks

According to Oleg Zhdanov, Russia is likely planning to repeat the attack in the near future to achieve its goals. 'The Russian Federation currently has up to a thousand missiles of various types in stock. They keep about 900-1000 missiles for use,' he emphasizes.

Political reasons for the calm

Zhdanov believes that the prolonged pause between strikes is rather due to political than military circumstances. He notes, 'Negotiations, meetings - all this has an impact. When negotiations have reached an impasse, the Russian side may have decided to pressure Ukraine by striking critical infrastructure. Russia has a reason to pressure Ukraine, trying to get territorial concessions.'

Thus, by attacking Ukraine, Russia is trying not only to undermine the military capability of the country but also to apply psychological pressure. Despite the efforts of the Ukrainian army to defend, future attacks may become even more massive and dangerous. The situation remains tense, and the world community continues to closely monitor the developments.