Theater-first intel feed with the current analysis and latest brief cards for the selected hotspot.
◈ Theater Assessment
Ukraine has escalated its deep-strike campaign against Russian strategic assets, destroying a Tu-95 strategic bomber at Engels air base via an 800-km drone strike — the most operationally significant single-platform kill in the current reporting window. This strike directly degrades Russia's capacity to generate missile strikes against Ukrainian cities and demonstrates Ukraine's sustained ability to hold high-value rear-area targets at risk. The multi-domain operational tempo — simultaneous strategic strikes, maritime interdiction, and front-line absorption — remains Ukraine's defining posture, with the Engels strike marking a notable escalation in target tier.
◈ Key Developments
Current brief cards for this theater.
Ukrainian forces conducted 365 mid-range strikes between March 2025 and March 2026, a third of them in the last three months alone, using domestically produced drones.
In this episode of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer is joined by Dr. Anthony Tingle, an independent researcher who has made nine trips to Ukraine since the start […] The post Urban Warfare Project Podcast: Drones and Urban Warfare in Ukraine first appeared on Modern War Institute .
Kyiv’s forces have unique experience in defending against Iranian-made drones, making Ukrainian industry and expertise a hot commodity.
◈ Operational Trend
Ukraine is demonstrating a consistent doctrine of strategic cost imposition — striking bomber fleets, tanker shipping, and EW systems simultaneously — while absorbing sustained front-line pressure rather than trading offensive depth for defensive consolidation. The Engels Tu-95 strike is the clearest signal yet that Ukraine is expanding its high-value target list and accepting strategic escalation risk in exchange for direct attrition of Russia's long-range strike capacity.
In 2025, a NATO exercise in Estonia revealed the structural vulnerability that modern mechanized forces can no longer afford to ignore. During the Hedgehog 2025 exercise, a Ukrainian team of […] The post Drone Warfare and the Future of Korean Armor first appeared on Modern War Institute .
A Russian drone struck a Territorial Recruitment Center building in Sumy, wounding a passerby, one day after Ukraine marked Mobilization Workers’ Day on March 17.
In an exclusive interview, a logistics coordinator of Ukraine’s 423rd UAS Battalion speaks about drone warfare, shifting battlefield tactics, and why he believes Russia’s war goes far beyond Ukraine.
Following their success in Ukraine, Arctic nations are assessing whether first-person-view drones could be deployed on Arctic battlefields.
Some of Ukraine’s best-known drone military commanders and experts will be visiting Washington later this month to brief policymakers and defense leaders.
Ukraine spent years perfecting cheap drone killers. After burning through billions in missiles in three days, the U.S. and its allies are asking for help.