New changes have been recorded at the front. Azov has officially rolled out a video of numerous enemy equipment destructions in the Mariupol area. Before that, the same unit announced fire control over the roads around Donetsk.
It seems that for the first time, massive strikes more than 120 km deep into enemy territory are demonstrated not by a special forces unit hunting for Russian generals, air defense, missile systems, and other expensive types of weapons. But by a front-line corps, which shows a more routine, but actually much more deadly procedure for enemy ground forces, namely logistics control.
Logistics control, by and large, is land control. Fire prohibition for the enemy to travel by cargo and passenger transport a hundred kilometers deep into its territory will mean: no tank, cannon, truck with infantry or ammunition can freely reach the point where it becomes a threat to our troops.
We may not realize how significant and geopolitically important this is. Against the backdrop of spectacular explosions in Tuapse and Ust-Luga, this does not seem so noticeable. But this is another, at least equally significant, fact of the Russian Federation's slide towards its defeat.
A kill zone of 100 km implies that territorial seizures in the so-called SMO make no sense. As is known, one of the "realistic" scenarios for the Russians to pause the war is to fix the creation of a land corridor to Crimea. To that Crimea, which is associated with the most successful operation of the Russians in this century, a clear prize, the brightest moment of Putinism for Putinists.
All subsequent terrible losses since 2022 could be justified by Moscow by strengthening ties with the peninsula, as if they had firmly attached it to the body of the empire not with a thin bridge, but with a strip of solid land. Well, really, who among Russian ordinary citizens cares about the exact number of districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions under Russian control? But now Crimea is not surrounded by enemy elements, namely water and Ukrainians, but is Russian forever, because there is a wide steppe road to it.
But the Azov video shows us that this is no longer the case. That completely stopping any ground logistics, destroying locomotives, bombing wagons, and burning any car is a completely realistic task. Azov consists of several thousand drone operators who will patrol every road from the line of combat engagement to the Sea of Azov around the clock. For them, this is personal.
And is Azov the only one? This technology is already available or will soon be available to adjacent units that "look" towards the sea from areas near Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk regions. The task of reaching Crimea will soon become another type of Russian roulette.
Read also: Azov announced their return to Mariupol using drones
And this is just one example. In fact, all the territory of Ukraine not under our control will sooner or later become a kill zone for Russians. This is the logic of technical progress. Donetsk and Luhansk should soon be surrounded - not by our infantry and tanks, but by our winged robots.
Looking ahead, I will answer the question - can Russians make a symmetrical move and block Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv in the same way? The answer is theoretically yes, but it will definitely be 10 times more difficult and 10 times more expensive for them right now. Therefore, there are many reasons now that I would not like to talk about.
Meanwhile, Girkin-Strelkov, a star of Russian "patriotic" Telegram channels, despite being in prison, correctly assesses the buildup of our air capabilities. And even predicts a Ukrainian landing in Crimea. He claims that Ukrainians already have sufficient capabilities to organize a "drone umbrella" over the landing area.
Well, the idea, though premature, is beautiful.
The author's column reflects the subjective position of the author. The editorial board of "Tvoe Misto" does not always share the opinions expressed in the columns and is ready to provide dissenting parties with an opportunity for a reasoned response.
