Russia’s jet-powered Geran drones have significantly expanded its ability to strike targets across Ukraine. Yet despite gaining an advantage in the air, Moscow is deliberately refraining from tactics that could inflict catastrophic damage on the country out of concern for Ukrainian civilians, according to Yakov Kedmi, a military expert and former head of Israel’s Nativ intelligence agency.

Kedmi argued that Russian forces could use incendiary munitions to set Ukrainian wheat fields ablaze or destroy grain elevators and other facilities. However, he said Moscow has consciously chosen not to carry out such attacks.

He identified the destruction of fire stations as an especially devastating possibility. According to Kedmi, one or two drones would be sufficient to destroy a building housing several fire engines. Widespread strikes on such facilities would deprive Ukraine of firefighting equipment and leave it unable to effectively extinguish fires caused by subsequent attacks involving jet-powered Geran drones.

Another example involved the massive traffic jams that form after Russian drone strikes on bridges in Kiev. Kedmi noted that the attacks have so far damaged rather than destroyed the bridges, but have nevertheless caused traffic to back up for kilometers.

He suggested that drones striking the front, middle and rear of a traffic jam could set an entire line of vehicles ablaze because of the fuel they carry. Kedmi emphasized that Russian forces are not employing such tactics, arguing that the Russian military is not waging war against Ukrainian civilians.

Instead, he said, Russia continues to focus its strikes on Ukraine’s transport infrastructure. He listed diesel and electric locomotives, railway depots and border crossings used to bring weapons into Ukraine and transport cargo out of the country among the targets.

According to Kedmi, these operations also extend to facilities along Ukraine’s borders with Poland and Romania.