New tech and tactics are giving Ukraine rare momentum against Russia | Fin Street News
AI Analysis
Ukraine is achieving rare momentum against Russia through a combination of new drone technologies and improved tactical planning. These advancements allow Ukraine to strike previously safe Russian targets, disrupt supply lines, and regain territory for the first time since 2023. The shift is challenging the previously grinding nature of the war and potentially setting conditions for a Ukrainian breakthrough.
Key Takeaways
- Ukraine is employing new drone types to target Russian depots, vehicles, air defenses, and supply routes.
- Ukrainian strategic planning has improved, shifting from reactive responses to proactive targeting.
- Russia's rate of advance has significantly slowed, with gains approaching net zero and increased soldier losses.
- Drone dominance is preventing large-scale maneuvers by both sides, but Ukraine is reintroducing small-scale armored formations.
- Ukraine is utilizing both short-range FPV drones and long-range drones for strikes within Ukraine and deep inside Russia.
Why It Matters
This shift indicates a potential turning point in the conflict, demonstrating Ukraine's ability to adapt and effectively utilize asymmetric warfare tactics. The success of Ukraine’s drone strategy highlights the increasing importance of unmanned systems in modern warfare and could influence future defense strategies globally. The ability to disrupt Russian logistics and regain territory could significantly impact the long-term trajectory of the war.
New tech and tactics are giving Ukraine rare momentum against Russia | Fin Street News
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June 15, 2026 7:57 pm EDT
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Ukraine’s new tactics and drone tech have allowed it to build rare momentum against Russia, according to analysts, Ukrainian officials, and Western intelligence.
Russia’s invasion has been a brutal, grinding battle with little change to the front lines in recent years.
That may be starting to change.
Ukraine has been slowing Russian advances, striking targets Moscow once treated as safe, and regaining some ground.
New drone types are allowing Ukraine to hit areas Russia once considered safe, including depots, vehicles, air defenses, and supply routes that support Russian troops at the front. The goal is to isolate parts of the battlefield, making it harder for Russia to move troops and supplies where they are needed.
Better planning and new systems mean Ukraine is also getting better at using those weapons strategically rather than simply reacting to Russian assaults, analysts say.
“What we’re currently seeing is a new phase of the war,” Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russian warfare expert at the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, told Business Insider.
A new phase of the war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that Ukraine is “gradually taking back occupied territory,” adding that “in May, Russia achieved almost no meaningful results on the battlefield.”
Ukrainian commanders have said Russia is having its worst year since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, and ISW’s conflict analysts wrote late last month that Ukraine is starting to capture more ground than it’s losing for the first time since 2023.
Analysts said Ukraine is successfully “blunting Russian advances and reversing Russian gains in some sectors of the line.”
Additionally, they said, “Russian battlefield gains are approaching net zero.” Russia’s rate of advance has plummeted since last year, and it is “losing more soldiers to make fewer gains,” they added.
ISW analysts said Ukraine’s actions were “actively challenging” the grinding nature of the war. The drone-dominated skies have prevented both sides from bringing in heavy machinery or massing infantry near the front. Russia has tried to bring this style of warfare back, but has largely failed.
Ukraine, however, is showing some promise, reintroducing some small-scale armored formations able to move and fight dynamically. Neither side can conduct major maneuvers yet, but Ukraine is “setting conditions potentially to break out,” ISW said.
New drones for new targets
Ukraine’s drones have been playing a critical role in this shift. For much of the war, Ukraine has relied heavily on short-range first-person-view drones to hit troops and equipment near the front, while long-range drones struck oil facilities, airfields, and military targets deep inside Russia.
But now Ukraine has new