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​The UK Defense Intelligence Analyzes How russian Cruise Missiles, Ballistic Missiles, and UAVs Test Ukraine’s Air Defense Resilience

Illustrative image / screenshot from video
Illustrative image / screenshot from video

Coordinated missile and drone attack pushes Ukraine’s defense capabilities to the limit

Overnight March 6-7, russia conducted its largest multi-axis long range aviation strike of 2025. Alongside up to 35 Kh-101 air launched cruise missiles, russia also launched land attack cruise missiles from Black Sea Fleet vessels alongside short range ballistic missiles and more than 100 one-way attack UAVs, all of which serve to complicate and saturate Ukrainian air defense efforts, according to the UK Defense Intelligence.

Russia continues to strike a range of targets, including the Ukrainian energy sector, predominantly gas infrastructure, seeking to exploit the winter period as it attempts to demoralise the civilian population as well as weaken Ukrainian economy.

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Ukrainian pilots tracked the Shahed drone to a safe zone before opening fire Defense Express
Ukrainian pilots tracked the Shahed drone to a safe zone before opening fire / screenshot from video

The Kh-101 missile remains the pace setter for russian large scale strikes, with a number of lower-intensity strikes this year allowing a slow replenishment in the stocks of russia’s premier precision guided munition. Rebuilding its stockpile enables long range aviation to sit ready to conduct strikes such as these with little to no notice, at a time of russia’s choosing.

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