Ukrainian forces have struck 85 strategic targets on Russian territory in less than two months, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi said during a media briefing on 26 September.
According to Syrskyi, 33 of the attacked objects were military targets including bases, warehouses, arsenals, airfields, and aircraft on airstrips. The remaining 52 targets belonged to Russia’s military-industrial complex – enterprises manufacturing weapons, ammunition, warheads, engines, rocket fuel, and drones.
“All that is used daily against Ukraine,” Syrskyi added.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, Russian regions and occupied territories have regularly experienced shelling and drone attacks. Ukraine maintains that it conducts operations to weaken Russian army rear bases to reduce “the aggressor’s offensive potential.” Russia typically does not disclose detailed information about targeted objects.
The commander characterized long-range drones capable of striking deep into Russian territory, known as DeepStrike, as the army’s “strong side” and an “effective program that has already proven its effectiveness.”
Syrskyi emphasized that DeepStrike operations have created a fuel crisis in Russia. It directly impacted the logistics and supply of Russian forces.
“The capabilities of the enemy’s military-industrial complex have been significantly reduced – and we see this on the battlefield,” he said.
The strikes have forced strategic changes in Russian military behavior, according to the commander.
“This forced the Russian fleet to hide at the base in Novorossiysk and come out only for short periods – for missile strikes, and then return to shelters again. This also forced the enemy to pull tactical aviation to significant distances from the front line,” according to Syrskyi.
Ukrainian forces are currently expanding units conducting DeepStrike operations while simultaneously improving their deployment system and command structure to achieve maximum efficiency, the general said.
Last year, Ukraine developed a plan for systematic long-range operations and contracted several tens of thousands of long-range drones, enabling regular high-precision strikes on critical targets in Russian territory. This year, Ukraine plans to increase the number of long-range attacks on Russia several times over, according to the Ministry of Defense.
The US President Donald Trump recently shifted to support Ukraine’s strikes on Russian targets, calling Russia a “paper tiger.” He criticized Russia’s prolonged war effort as ineffective and praised Ukraine’s position to fight and win. This marks a change from his earlier views that Ukraine should concede territory for peace.
His recent stance appears aimed at applying public pressure on Russia for a peace deal, but the US role in this remains limited to support via allies rather than direct action. Trump also agreed with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s view that Ukraine has the right to strike Russian energy and military infrastructure in response to Russian attacks