A tactical choice, not a symbolic one. The annual May 9 parade in Moscow, which Vladimir Putin obviously attended, took place without any obvious problem even though the Russian authorities had reinforced their defense systems for fear of a Ukrainian air attack.
According to an interview with the Guardian by Robert Brovdi, head of the main Ukrainian drone unit, kyiv had no intention of targeting the Russian capital. “Why waste drones on this big wall? “, he explained, referring to the reinforced security system around Moscow.
“Hit the energy sector or the militaryâ€
If the commander of the “Birds of Madyar” unit recognized that a strike on the capital on the day of the parade would have had “symbolic” significance, he believes that Ukraine should take the opportunity to strike on more vulnerable places. “The best is to hit the energy sector or the army, on the outskirts,” he told the British daily a few days ago.
Donald Trump announced Friday evening, on the eve of this parade, a three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accepted.
A former grain trader who arrived last year at the head of the newly created Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdi is one of the Russian army’s favorite targets. In recent months, it has carried out several rounds of long-range strikes against targets deep inside Russia, including ports, oil refineries and missile factories.
According to the latter, drones are now responsible for 80% of enemy destruction, making armored assaults obsolete. “This affects the combat capacity of the Russian army and reduces its offensive potential,” he estimates, citing the figure of 30 to 34,000 Russian soldiers killed per month.
However, if Robert Brovdi is convinced of Ukrainian superiority in the air domain, an immediate end to the war remains “unlikely” for the moment, in his own words.
