For a long time, Zelensky has been asking his allies for long-range weapons. Meanwhile, Ukraine is producing them itself. And with success: attacks deep in Russia are becoming more frequent.
The Leningrad region in the northwestern part of Russia borders Finland and Estonia - and has been a frontline zone for several weeks. At least that's what the governor of the region says, even though the Ukraine attacked by Russia is hundreds of kilometers away, writes the German public media ARD.
For months, Ukraine has been striking the Leningrad region and other regions deep in Russia, targeting mainly military facilities and refineries. In this way, Ukraine has managed to significantly weaken Russia, notes military expert Vladislav Seleznyov. He told ARD: "The tactics of the Ukrainian army within the framework of the "Deep Strikes" campaign have a clear goal: to weaken the offensive potential of the Russian occupiers as much as possible.".
How adversity breeds strength
For a long time, Ukraine depended on its Western partners to carry out so-called deep strikes, i.e. attacks deep inside Russia, and did not have the right to use the supplied weapons for any attacks, ARD recalls.
Ukraine never received the "Taurus" missiles promised by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during the election campaign, which is why it had to rely on its own production. And successfully, as Defense Minister Fedorov points out, not without self-confidence. According to him, Ukraine now has weapons that have a similar or even greater range than the "Taurus". "However, there can never be too many weapons systems, and we are always open to receiving more weapons", Fedorov said, quoted by ARD. According to him, Ukraine has managed to achieve "a certain independence" in this area. "We all see the attacks on Russia from a distance of 1,500 kilometers. Ukraine has done its job in this regard."
Ukraine launches more drones than Russia
According to independent analysts, in March alone, Ukraine attacked Russia with 7,000 drones. Thus, for the first time, more drones were sent against the attacker than were launched by the Kremlin. According to "Bloomberg", the volume of crude oil processing in Russia has reached its lowest level since 2009.
Ukrainian "deep strikes" are having an increasing impact, and the opportunities in this area are increasing, military expert Ihor Romanenko explained to ARD. "The Ukrainian army and the Ukrainian arms industry are strengthening in terms of both medium and long range."
According to the expert, Ukraine should focus its efforts on the places where Russian missiles are produced, especially ballistic ones - since the country does not have enough of its own air defense assets. Ukraine itself is carrying out targeted strikes on Russia's air defense system in order to then attack oil infrastructure and military targets.
It is still unclear to what extent the attacks will change the course of the war, ARD notes. But the consequences of the attacks are already having an impact on the Russian budget. The forecast for economic growth has been lowered - for 2026, the government has reduced expectations for GDP growth from 1.3 to 0.4 percent. And at the front, the aggressor's problems are increasing due to Ukrainian attacks on Russian logistics, ARD summarizes.