Ukrainian drone attacks target Russian nuclear radar stations

In recent days, Ukraine has carried out a series of drone strikes on the Russian mainland. One of these attacks was one of the most far-reaching in the entire war. The attacks targeted radar stations that Moscow uses, at least in part, as early warning systems for nuclear incidents.

On Monday, Ukraine hit a radar station near the border with Kazakhstan, more than 1,700 kilometers away, a Ukrainian intelligence official said. Ukrainian experts said the facility was used to detect missile threats from Asia.

On Tuesday morning, the governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region reported that a Ukrainian drone had been shot down over the city of Armavir, which is home to two radar stations. Ukraine reported no further attacks that day.

Ukraine has used its own drones and missiles to carry out these attacks, but they come as officials in Kyiv have been urging the United States to allow it to fire powerful American weapons at Russia. The Biden administration had resisted these appeals for weeks, fearing it would be drawn into a wider war. But now it has allowed Ukraine to fire its weapons at Russia, but only at military sites used for attacks in the Kharkiv region.

The attacks on the radar systems are also causing American officials to worry about escalation, according to a senior Biden administration official. The administration this week communicated its concerns to Ukraine about Kyiv’s recent drone and missile attacks on at least three nuclear early warning radar stations in Russia in recent weeks, the official said.

By launching the attacks deeper into Russia, analysts say Ukraine is trying to force Russia to move its air defense systems deep into the country so that Moscow cannot concentrate its defensive weapons near the border. In this sense, military experts say, the attacks serve a military purpose, even if the radar systems are not used in war.

In Monday’s attack, Ukraine hit a radar station in the Orsk region with a long-range drone made in Ukraine and launched from the country, a Ukrainian military intelligence official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

Satellite images verified by the New York Times showed damage to the radar station on Monday that was not present the day before. The images show damage in the form of burn marks, including in the center of the radar system itself. It was not possible to determine from the images what had hit the facility.

Russian media reported an attack on a military facility in the region where the radar station is located, but did not provide details on what exactly was hit. The drone was launched from Ukrainian territory and manufactured in Ukraine by the main military intelligence agency, the official said.

A Telegram message from the governor’s office said Tuesday’s attack destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to air defense forces over Armavir. There were no casualties or damage, it said.

The extent of the destruction caused by Monday’s drone attack is unknown. Defense Express, a Ukrainian open-source military analysis group, said the radar system was intended as a warning against missiles from Russia’s south and east, such as missiles from China or India.

The attack followed a pattern of successful Ukrainian drone strikes in Russia as the Ukrainian military defended itself against advances in the ground war in the east of the country.

Ukraine has been domestically producing weapons for long-range attacks and is increasing production of these weapons. In the first months of this year, about 200,000 drones were manufactured in Ukraine, compared with 60,000 last year, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military said.

However, the drones cannot change the situation on the front line, where Russia has an advantage in artillery and missiles and is advancing at several points. That is why Ukraine has asked America and its allies for permission to fire powerful Western weapons at Russia.

Kiev is using Western weapons to attack Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, including Crimea.

Riley Mellen And Haley Willis contributed to the reporting.