Ukraine seeks a war plan beyond killing as many Russian soldiers as possible

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NOVOMYKOLAIVKA, Ukraine—In this corner of southeast Ukraine, Russian forces are pummeling rear areas with drone attacks, seeking to sap the strength of Ukrainian defenders by cutting their supply lines. Snow-covered roads are littered with burned-out pickup trucks.

As the conflict nears the four-year mark, Russia’s increasingly effective use of drones is helping its forces maintain a grinding, slow-motion advance. It is weakening Ukraine’s hand at the negotiating table, where it is under pressure to cede strategically vital territory. Russia’s battlefield drone strategy is focused on a medium range of about 12 to 50 miles.

Priority targets include Ukrainian drone operators as well as logistics. In contrast, Ukraine’s approach is still largely about inflicting maximum casualties on Russian infantry when they enter a kill zone beginning about 12 miles from the front line. Ukraine is betting on doing more of the same this year.

The goal is to kill 50,000 Russian soldiers a month, up from 35,000 in December, new defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov said recently. Many Ukrainian soldiers and officers say that a shift is needed and that Ukraine needs to match Russia’s strategy of systematically targeting the rear. Ukrainian forces could better resist the relentless Russian pressure if they focused more on targeting Russian drone operators and company and battalion command posts many miles behind the line of contact, said Major Oleh Shyriayev, commander of the 225th Assault Regiment, which is fighting off constant Russian assaults in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.