Bold attacks show Russian territory is ‘not invincible’

From covert drone strikes and airport sabotage to nuclear plant fires, Ukraine is finding new methods of fighting back

- BRYONY GOOCH

As Ukrainians gathered to mark Independence Day across the country last Sunday, Russia accused Kyiv of launching dozens of drones at a nuclear power plant in Kursk.

The attack, which sparked a large fire and destroyed parts of the plant’s infrastructure, was one of the most audacious attacks on Russian territory so far this year. Damage was done to an auxiliary transformer and there was a 50 per cent reduction in a nuclear reactor’s operating capacity, according to Russian authorities.

Ukraine’s military refused to comment on the attack. But in a message shared shortly after it took place, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasised his nation’s resolve in the face of Russian aggression.

“We are building a Ukraine that will have enough strength and power to live in security and peace,” he said in a video address. “What our future will be is up to us alone.”

It is not the first or boldest attack that Ukraine has launched on Russia this year, but military experts have observed that Kyiv is bringing war to Russian territory in new ways.

Orysia Lutsevych OBE, deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia Programme and head of the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, told The Independent that Ukraine “has massively improved its armed forces” since the war began in February 2022.

She added: “There’s no better combat-ready army than Ukraine. With new technology, with a new way of fighting, and with determination.”

The Independent looks at some of Ukraine's boldest attacks on Russia and how they have influenced the course of the war.

Operation Spiderweb

After 18 months and nine days of planning, Ukrainian security services launched a covert drone attack deep inside Russia on 1 June earlier this year.