Expert insight: Ukraine drone strikes are affecting Russia, but Putin remains committed to war
Western historian Oleksa Drachewych argues Ukrainian drone strikes strain Russia’s fuel supply and public mood, but he does not expect Putin’s regime or the war to end soon.
Oleksa Drachewych, an assistant professor of history at Western, writes that Ukraine’s drone strikes deeper into Russia and Crimea, which Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls long-range sanctions, are producing fuel shortages and higher fuel prices in Russia. His commentary first ran in The Conversation.
Public opinion polls in Russia suggest cracks in support for the war, and Crimea has seen fuel and grocery shortages. Drachewych says it would still be premature to expect Putin’s regime to fall. Putin has signed a law expanding the military, and the Kremlin still insists on its long-term demands, including control of occupied territory.
He notes the strikes may have shifted U.S. attitudes. Donald Trump appeared to agree to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missiles, though Drachewych calls that short of what Ukraine wanted.
His conclusion is that peace remains unlikely, while the strikes boost Ukrainian morale.
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