THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INFRASTRUCTURE DESTRUCTION IN THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR AND ITS IMPACT ON STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING

Abstract

The author examines one of the key innovations of the Russo-Ukrainian war – the launching of massive airstrikes – in an attempt to determine the impact of damage to territorial infrastructure on state strategies and the future of warfare. The ratio of modern airstrikes to their deployment is determined primarily by economic considerations.
Although the Ukrainian strikes were carried out using relatively inexpensive systems -primarily unmanned aerial vehicles – they reached even the most remote Russian bases and oil terminals, causing colossal damage to the Russian economy.
Small drones, supported by artificial intelligence, are deployed in large numbers before the strike, creating a distributed air presence.
This approach to sequential countermeasures is expected to become more widespread in the future, as it represents one of the most effective ways to maintain air superiority.
Based on an analysis of data from various sources, a number of conclusions are drawn, arguing that the West as a whole continues to fund Ukraine – perhaps not fully, but nevertheless sufficiently and sustainably.