{"id":88881,"date":"2025-09-09T21:37:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T21:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/09\/09\/attacking-these-targets-could-cripple-russias-war-machine-experts\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:45:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:45:18","slug":"attacking-these-targets-could-cripple-russias-war-machine-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2025\/09\/09\/attacking-these-targets-could-cripple-russias-war-machine-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"Attacking these targets could cripple Russia\u2019s war machine: Experts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By striking eight targets across Russia, Ukraine could badly damage Russia\u2019s war machine, according to some U.S. experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A mixture of drone and missile attacks \u2014 as well as limited ground offensives into Russian-controlled territory \u2014 could enable the Ukrainians to break the current stalemate and affect the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/\">course of the Russia-Ukraine war<\/a>, argues an August <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hudson.org\/national-security-defense\/breaking-stalemate-russian-targets-ukraine-should-strike-luke-coffey-can-kasapoglu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.hudson.org\/national-security-defense\/breaking-stalemate-russian-targets-ukraine-should-strike-luke-coffey-can-kasapoglu\">report by the Hudson Institute<\/a>, a Washington-based think tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Hudson target list details \u201ceight high-value and militarily plausible targets that Ukraine should pursue to weaken Russia\u2019s warfighting ability and increase the political cost of invading and occupying Ukrainian territory,\u201d wrote Hudson researchers Luke Coffey and Can Kasapo\u011flu.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/09\/04\/trumps-2-week-deadline-for-russia-to-start-peace-talks-comes-and-goes\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25224650009687.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump\u2019s 2-week deadline for Russia to start peace talks comes and goes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The two-week deadline that President Donald Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a peace deal with Ukraine ended Thursday.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile a single strike against any one of these targets would not by itself constitute a decisive blow, cumulatively, a sustained attack against several of them could significantly damage Russia\u2019s military infrastructure and complicate its continued aggression,\u201d the report argues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/maritime-executive.com\/article\/russia-invests-in-volga-don-canal-as-trade-with-iran-booms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/maritime-executive.com\/article\/russia-invests-in-volga-don-canal-as-trade-with-iran-booms\">Volga-Don Canal<\/a>, a 63-mile waterway connecting the Caspian and Black Seas, enables Russia to sail ships into the Black Sea, and Iran to ship weapons to Russia. Damaging the canal\u2019s 13 locks would be difficult: Though Russian air defenses in the area are weak, Ukrainian drones and missiles would still need powerful warheads and pinpoint accuracy. However, \u201ca successful strike would deal a major geopolitical blow to Russia as well as to the Islamic Republic,\u201d Coffey and Kasapo\u011flu argue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMovement of military and commercial vessels between the Caspian and Black Sea would also slow and halt, causing economic disruption,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A joint Russo-Iranian drone factory in the Russian republic of Tatarstan manufactures most of the Iranian-designed Shahed drones that have pummeled Ukrainian cities. While Ukraine probably can\u2019t destroy such an enormous facility through bombardment, it can target the factory\u2019s Achilles-heel, its electrical supply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe factory draws electricity primarily from the Tatarstan power grid, most likely sourced from the Nizhnekamsk Thermal Power Plant \u2014 a major generator in the region,\u201d the Hudson report noted. \u201cAny disruption to this regional energy network could impact factory operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24319795398645.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-111229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24319795398645.jpg.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24319795398645.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24319795398645.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24319795398645.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24319795398645.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24319795398645.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A Ukrainian officer shows a thermobaric charge of a downed Shahed drone launched by Russia in a research laboratory in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Nov. 14, 2024. (Efrem Lukatsky\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Border crossing points between Russia and China convey Chinese electronics and other goods that sustain Russia\u2019s military and economy. In particular, 60% of cross-border rail traffic passes through the <a href=\"https:\/\/russiaspivottoasia.com\/development-of-the-zabaikalsk-manzhouli-russia-china-border-checkpoint\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/russiaspivottoasia.com\/development-of-the-zabaikalsk-manzhouli-russia-china-border-checkpoint\/\">Manzhouli\u2013Zabaykalsk<\/a> and Suifenhe\u2013Pogranichny chokepoints. While Coffey and Kasapo\u011flu are careful not to advocate a Ukrainian attack on China, \u201cthere are several vulnerable and critical transit chokepoints within a 100-mile radius on the Russian side of each crossing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Hudson report identified four bridges that connect Russian-occupied Crimea with Russia. In addition to the Kerch Bridge \u2014 which Ukrainian attacks have periodically damaged \u2014 the Chonhar, Syvash and Henichesk bridges are also vital to Russian logistics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe West should prioritize arming Ukraine with the weapons it needs to destroy, or at least incapacitate, the Kerch Bridge,\u201d the report said. \u201cThe German Taurus missile, with its smart fuse technology and destructive warhead, remains the ideal weapon for this operation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rail bridges in Russia\u2019s Western Military District, which abuts Ukraine, were also flagged in the report. Much more than Western nations, Russia depends on rail transport to move troops and supplies. While previous attacks on trains and rail yards have achieved only limited success, destroying railway bridges, transformers and traction substations offers more promise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn the aftermath of such strikes, cascading bottlenecks would likely emerge across the broader rail network, creating secondary targets of opportunity for follow-on attacks,\u201d the report noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Russian naval base at <a href=\"https:\/\/jamestown.org\/program\/russian-black-sea-fleet-intends-to-establish-base-in-abkhazia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/jamestown.org\/program\/russian-black-sea-fleet-intends-to-establish-base-in-abkhazia\/\">Ochamchire<\/a> in Abkhazia, a Russian-occupied region of Georgia, is another key target identified by Coffey and Kasapo\u011flu. After Ukrainian drone strikes drove the Black Sea Fleet out of Sevastopol and other Crimean ports, Russia began building a naval base at Ochamchire. The site has yet to be fortified and it is within drone range of Ukraine, so attacks could disrupt construction and \u201cmark a significant victory for Ukraine, demonstrating its expanding strategic reach against high-value Russian targets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia\u2019s Pacific Fleet bases were also included in the report\u2019s target list. With Vladivostok 6,000 miles from Kyiv, hitting Pacific bases wouldn\u2019t be easy. Coffey and Kasapo\u011flu suggest that Ukraine could use containerized drones launched from covert cargo ships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSuch an ambitious attack could yield significant geopolitical dividends, even if not entirely successful,\u201d the report said. \u201cIt would compel Russia to reassess its force protection posture across its entire naval fleet, including for assets located thousands of miles from Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Transnistria, a Russian-supported breakaway region of Moldova, now hosts an estimated 1,500 Russian troops (Russia may bring in another 10,000 troops, the Moldovan government recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themoscowtimes.com\/2025\/06\/04\/russia-seeks-to-deploy-10k-more-troops-to-moldovan-breakaway-region-pm-says-a89338\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.themoscowtimes.com\/2025\/06\/04\/russia-seeks-to-deploy-10k-more-troops-to-moldovan-breakaway-region-pm-says-a89338\">warned<\/a>). Located to the southwest of Ukraine, Transnistria is surrounded by Ukrainian and Moldovan territory, and thus isolated from Russian armies in eastern Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUkraine would gain leverage in escalation dominance over the Kremlin by seizing Russian-held territory in Transnistria,\u201d Coffey and Kasapo\u011flu said. \u201cIn particular, such an operation would lessen the pressure on the key Ukrainian port city of Odessa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of these options, attacking Transnistria is probably the most challenging. With Ukraine\u2019s army under pressure in the east from relentless Russian attacks, mustering sufficient forces to attack west against Transnistria may be difficult.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Striking eight targets across Russia could enable Ukraine to break the current stalemate and affect the course of the war, some U.S. experts argue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":119965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,8,25],"tags":[8544],"coauthors":[3386],"class_list":["post-88881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-newsletters","tag-ukraine"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"H2GZNGDCLFCUHFB23QSW3K7THE","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2025\/09\/09\/attacking-these-targets-could-cripple-russias-war-machine-experts\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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