Military analyst Mikhail Khodarenok argues that unmanned aerial vehicles are, in essence, fairly simple machines, and that for Ukraine the task of assembling a thousand such drones is now entirely achievable.

He recalled that Western countries are actively supplying Kiev with hundreds of drones of various types. As for the production sites where these UAVs are assembled, Khodarenok noted that they are dispersed across the country and well concealed, which makes their destruction extremely difficult.

On this basis, he drew a bleak conclusion: the intensity of Ukrainian drone strikes launched from Kiev, in his view, will only grow day by day.

Khodarenok believes Russia effectively has only two options left to counter these attacks: further strengthening the country’s air defence systems and increasing strikes on enemy targets.

In the end, he said, Kiev will be forced to face a stark choice — either the near-total destruction of Ukraine’s industry, energy sector, infrastructure and communications, or a continuation of the armed confrontation with an outcome that is highly uncertain and difficult to predict.