Illia Kabachynskyi

Over the past two weeks, Ukraine has done something unprecedented: from Riyadh to Damascus, the country has begun building a new security axis, sealing partnerships in regions where it had been absent for decades.

Moscow is demanding Ukraine's entire Donetsk region because it cannot afford to keep fighting for it—Russian losses in 2026 exceed recruitment as battlefield gains stall.

The Ukrainian military has been steadily expanding its drone capabilities, resulting in heavier losses for Russian forces on the front line and moving Ukraine closer to its goal: eliminating more than 50,000 Russian troops per month.

In just a few years, Ukraine’s drones have gone from improvisation to striking Russia’s oil refineries 1,500 kilometers away, destroying tens of billions of dollars’ worth of enemy and killing hundreds of thousands of invading troops. Some “housewives,” indeed.

For a week straight, Ukrainian drones have struck Russia’s Baltic oil ports thousands of kilometers from the front—disrupting up to 30% of its oil exports and increasing pressure on Moscow to end the war.

In 2026, Russia has bled troops faster than it can recruit, as the failed spring offensive and Ukrainian drones drive losses of around 1,500 soldiers a day.