Is Ukraine Winning The Shahed War?
It seems deep strikes on Russian factories are disrupting production
Just nine months ago, Ukrainian air defense commanders were in a panic. Russia was flinging as many as 2,000 Shahed one-way attack drones at Ukrainian cities every week. Air defenses took down 90% of the $50,000 flying munitions, but the 10% that got through inflicted heavy damage with their 440-pound warheads.
And there was seemingly no in sight. The trend line pointed to Russia producing potentially 7,000 Shaheds a week—a volume of drones that could’ve overwhelmed Ukrainian defenses.
But then, without many outside observers noticing, something changed. In recent months, the pace of Shahed strikes has flatlined. Yes, the Russians still pummel Ukrainian cities with 1,500 or more Shaheds a week. But there’s no longer a noticeable trend toward more Shahed attacks.
One analyst chalks up the Shahed flatline to Ukrainian deep strikes.
