The two drone strikes on Moscow business district towers earlier this week did little serious damage but the symbolic impact was of a different order. This is not least because they hit the heart of the Russian capital and were part of a pattern of armed drone attacks affecting government and military targets spread across much of southwest Russia.
The strikes have been few compared with the many hundreds of drones and missiles fired from Russia into Ukraine, and casualties were minimal. In Ukraine, over 9,000 civilians have been killed and 16,646 injured, with the UN making it clear that “the actual figures are considerably higher”.
Where the recent Ukrainian attacks into Russia may be significant, though, is if they make the position of the Putin regime more difficult. That, in turn, relates to wider developments in the conflict.
