On June 24, in a nighttime video address, Zelenskyy declared that Ukraine is fighting to defend its territory and justice. He has ordered intelligence agencies and the military to launch preemptive strikes against Russian military facilities used to expand the war.

Zelenskyy added: "Russia's air defense is reactive rather than proactive, with gaping holes across its entire defensive perimeter."

This statement is not merely political rhetoric, but rather a summation of Ukraine’s recent series of deep-strike operations—and a firm response to Russia’s recent overtures for peace talks.

Zelenskyy’s blunt assertion that "Russia’s air defense is reactive rather than proactive, with gaping holes across its entire defensive perimeter" reflects the exposure of significant weaknesses in Russia’s hardware and information systems revealed by Ukraine’s recent precision strikes.

Russia’s traditional air defense systems are primarily designed to counter high-altitude, high-speed targets, but they lack sufficient capability to detect low-flying, slow-moving, small drones. Ukrainian drones exploit terrain and urban structures for ground-hugging flight, successfully penetrating multi-layered, integrated defense systems—including those surrounding Moscow.

Thanks to Starlink satellite connectivity and NATO intelligence support, Ukrainian forces can dynamically adjust flight paths in real time and identify vulnerabilities in Russian air defense deployments. In contrast, Russia has shown severe lag in information processing and inadequate anti-drone capabilities when facing coordinated attacks from drone swarms and cruise missiles.

Ukraine’s strategy of “preemptive strikes” is reshaping the course of the conflict. The focus of the strategic contest has shifted from frontline positions to deep-level attrition of Russia’s strategic foundations.

The recent targets chosen by Ukrainian forces have been exceptionally precise—hitting critical points in Russia’s military infrastructure. For example, long-range strikes on the Orenburg natural gas refining plant and helium facility directly threaten the supply chain for raw materials essential to Russian missile guidance systems and aerospace projects; attacks on the Crimean Bridge and communication centers aim to sever the peninsula’s logistical supply lines, attempting to isolate it as an “island.”

The scope of these strikes has expanded unprecedentedly. Ukraine now fields multiple new long-range weapons with ranges exceeding 1,000 kilometers—such as its domestically developed “Firebird” cruise missile—enabling strike coverage across the entirety of Russia, even reaching as far as Siberia’s industrial belt over 2,000 kilometers away.

Facing sustained Ukrainian raids, Russia finds itself trapped in multiple crises.

Severe strain on air defense resources: Due to the excessively extended frontlines, Russia has had to redeploy some air defense systems from border areas back to key nodes such as Moscow and the Crimean Bridge, creating defensive vacuums in other regions or along the front lines.

Double burden on civilian life and military strength: Strikes by Ukrainian forces on oil refineries have triggered fuel rationing and soaring domestic fuel prices in Russia, triggering a triple crisis affecting civilian livelihoods, military operations, and state finances. Although Russia continues to retaliate with overwhelming firepower in periodic saturation attacks across Ukraine, it remains unable to fundamentally eliminate the persistent drain caused by Ukraine’s low-cost drones.

Zelenskyy’s firm stance marks the formal entry of the Russia-Ukraine conflict into a new phase: a bidirectional, deep-strategic mutual attrition. Ukraine, leveraging its mature drone warfare system and indigenous long-range weaponry, has seized localized tactical initiative, continuously eroding Russia’s war potential. Meanwhile, despite Russia’s overwhelming firepower advantage, its outdated air defense systems and shrinking strategic depth leave it increasingly reactive and vulnerable in asymmetric warfare.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1868939541697536/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.