Russia attacked Ukraine with about 70 air and sea-launched missiles today, but the big news was that Ukraine apparently hit two air bases deep inside Russia with drone attacks. Adding some danger to the story, both bases house strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
Russia claims its air defenses took out the drones and falling debris caused minor damage, but that’s hard to verify. It’s interesting to note that Russia didn’t report the attacks for fifteen hours. I’m guessing that’s how long it took for them to assess the situation and create a cover story. I expect we’ll learn from future satellite images will if the damage is more extensive. In the meantime, the Russia version of the story, which much of the Western media picked up, keeps their populace calm.
Tit for Tat
It amazes me that Russia can invade another county and then get upset when said country fights back. Throughout the war, Ukraine has successfully carried out small-scale attacks on Russian assets outside Ukraine and the Russian people act like it’s a terrible act of war. What do you expect? You are at war.
Russia is working to knock out power and other utilities in Ukraine. They have occupied thousands of square miles of Ukrainian lands. They have voted to annex new territories. I think they are getting off lightly when the Ukrainians managed to blow up the flagship of their Black Sea fleet, bomb a few oil storage facilities, blow up a bridge, and knock out some aircraft on the runway at different airbases.
The real issue for Russian leadership is that it is against the law to call the war in Ukraine a war. They have to refer to it as a special military operation. The citizens don’t expect explosions in their neighborhood from a special military operation. These attacks damage the Russian psyche and scare the populace. They also raise internal pressures on the Russian leadership.
Warnings for Preppers
What does this most recent attack mean for preppers? The biggest danger is that these annoying fleabites of Ukrainian attacks inside Russia will cause Putin to over react and do something that will bring NATO into the war. If Putin is sick and unstable, then these small attacks could cause him to lash out. If he uses nukes in a fit of rage or fear, things could escalate. That’s when things get unpredictable and the danger level soars.
We’ve covered nuclear war and how to prepare for it in the past, so I won’t repeat that there. Instead, I’ll just remind you: continue to prep. This isn’t over.
Drone War
This conflict started as a ground war when Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled into Ukraine. It became more of an artillery war when defenders used rockets, missiles, and artillery to disable and destroy Russian armor and shoot down airplanes and helicopters. Now it is evolving into a drone war, giving us a glance at how future conflicts may be fought.
Ukraine used drones first, often to good effect. Drones it purchased from Turkey allowed it to monitor the battlefield, direct artillery, and strike seemingly at will. Then it received loitering munitions from the U.S., a kind of kamikaze drone that has generated little news coverage. It continues to modify and use off-the-shelf civilian drones to spy out targets, act as forward observers, and drop grenades on hapless Russian troops.
Russia, which fielded few drones at the beginning of the war, bought hundreds from Iran. Although less complex than those from the U.S. or even turkey, they served as low-flying kamikaze bombs that were used in many Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure over the past two months. Reportedly, no drones were used in Russia’s latest attack, leading some to wonder if Ukraine was right when it reported Russia was running low on drones, or if it was simply too cold for them to function.
In any case, you can expect any country that didn’t have drones is refocusing their efforts. The benefits of drones, both armed and unarmed, are such that even preppers should consider having a drone to help them defend their compounds. While a drone can’t replace boots on the ground, it can make them more effective.
