Russian forces have gained the upper hand in the tactical drone contest
They are outnumbering Ukraine’s unmanned aerial vehicles in key sections of the front, while using improved tactics that are testing Ukraine’s ability to keep its front-line defenders supplied.
The trend bodes ill for Ukraine’s ability to hold ground in 2026, unless Ukrainian forces can find answers to Russia’s improved capabilities.
Kyiv and its European backers are scrambling to persuade President Trump that Russia should be pressured to accept a more balanced deal and that Ukraine isn’t sliding toward defeat.
Russia is still unable to achieve a breakthrough, Zaluzhniy noted in an analysis of the war for Ukrainian news site Mirror of the Week.
Large-scale maneuvering remains nearly impossible on a battlefield where masses of cheap drones can see and target movement by soldiers or vehicles.
But the danger for Ukraine, Zaluzhniy said, is that its undermanned army could reach a point of exhaustion unless it can take back the initiative in the high-tech drone war.
WSJ 29 November 2025
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