In The News

Samuel Bendett says, “I can’t say I am surprised, given how many drones are in the air at any given time and the absolute and immediate need to neutralize the adversary drone once it is identified.”

Samuel Bendett says, “The whole point of using those Shaheds is that they fly in large groups and they can overwhelm air defenses. All it takes is one or two of them to sneak past.”

Samuel Bendett says, "It looks like Iran does not seem to be bothered all that much about transferring this technology...but they are viewing their strengthening relations with Moscow as a cornerstone of their foreign policy."

Michael Kofman says, “An effective air defense requires systems that blunt attacks from a variety of threats at different altitudes. Building one is an ambitious undertaking, and the capability Ukraine has obtained wasn’t sufficient.”

Samuel Bendett says, “This was a significant strike. I am not an expert on construction or bridges, but with all the public information that was available, videos and photographs that were taken of the damaged bridge, we could see that the damage was extensive.”

Michael Kofman says, the explosion on the Kerch Bridge was meant to have “real operational effects” by disrupting Russian military supply lines related to its occupation of Ukraine’s Kherson region.

Samuel Bendett says, “Ukrainians are learning how to better defend themselves, Russians are learning how to better circumvent Ukrainian defenses.”

Dmitry Gorenburg says, "Putin is showing no sign of reducing his goals, and the people around him are either also completely inflexible, or else they lack the power to change anything."

Dmitry Gorenburg says, "This sounds obvious, but it's important to understand: the fact that Ukraine is making gains simultaneously on two fronts means that they have sufficient forces to conduct successful offensive operations in multiple theaters."

Michael Kofman says, "The Russian military position is not just precarious, but visibly deteriorating."

Samuel Bendett says, "I think we are at the early stages of assessing their usability. They can hit Ukrainian long-range artillery — highly prized Russian targets — as well stationary targets like buildings."

Michael Kofman says Putin’s announcement “represents a point of no return for the [Russian] regime where their minimal war aims are fundamentally incompatible with Ukraine’s and now cannot be easily revised”

Michael Kofman says, “If the Ukrainian military is able to get artillery within range of the main bridges and river crossings, then the Russian position in general may become untenable."

Samuel Bendett says, “Shahed-136 is a loitering munition with a significant range, while Mohajer-6 is a mid-range ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) and combat drone with a range of around 200 kilometers.”

Dmitry Gorenburg says, "These new people will not be any good for counterattack or advance, but if you want to fill in the second line of defense to try to prevent any sort of Ukrainian breakthrough, mixing them in with undermanned, experienced units could be at least somewhat effective."

Sam Bendett says, “There is also an ongoing offensive in the Kherson region as Ukrainians are trying to cut off significant Russian forces there.”